Black Lives Matter: Anti-Racism Resources for the Hawai‘i Community

black lives matter hawaii protest
Image by Royce Hui

Hawai‘i’s remote geography is often used to excuse our distance from current affairs on the U.S. continent and abroad. The grassroots organizations and educational materials compiled here aim to bridge this divide in conversation, solidarity, and community actions. Listed below are both local and national groups to support; there is also an evolving curriculum of existing literature, films, and art rooted in Black thought and resistance to further educate ourselves at this critical moment. These are starting points in a lifelong process of learning. If you have recommendations for this list, please email our editorial team at [email protected]. Please visit this site throughout the month as this list continues to grow.


Hawai‘i Resources

E Lono I ka Pōpolo, E Kū Kia‘i Pōpolo

Listen to Black People, Stand With Black People. This Kānaka resource from Kahala Johnson, a University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa Ph.D. student with a focus in Indigenous Relations, Alternative Futures and Political Theory, uses Hawaiian mo‘olelo and lā‘au lapa‘au as a first step for all to healing and action. Read the kāhea on Instagram, and download the image slides to share with your communities.

The Pōpolo Project 

The Pōpolo Project is a Hawai‘i-based nonprofit organization that redefines what it means to be Black in Hawai‘i and in the world through cultivating radical reconnection to selves, community, ancestors, and the land, changing what we commonly think of as Local and highlighting the vivid, complex diversity of Blackness. The #PopoloSyllabus contains a list of readings on Black people in Hawai‘i and associated themes. Donate to their mission here (consider a monthly donation plan to sustain their programs).

Understanding Race and Belonging in Hawai‘i

A training course led by Dr. Akiemi Glenn, executor director of The Pōpolo Project, offering a Hawai‘i-specific racial justice framework and tools to build a just future for all.

Why Black Lives Matter in the Hawaiian Kingdom

Black Kānaka scholar Joy Lehuanani Enomoto’s must-read essay on how Kānaka Maoli, whose origins are rooted in pō, arrive in a world that has reduced Blackness to something marked inferior.

Statement of Solidarity for the Protection of Black Lives

Kia‘i of Pu‘uhonua o Pu‘uhuluhulu and the Hawai‘i Unity and Liberation Institute (HULI) published a message demanding justice for the Black community and an immediate end to police violence.

Anti-Racism Resources — Hawai‘i Edition

A working Google sheet by Maya Gee of Hawai‘i-centric readings focused on on Black Hawai‘i, Black history in Hawai‘i, settler colonialism, published op-eds and personal stories, all available as PDFs or accessible online.

“If George Floyd Died in Hawaii, We’d Know Little About the Cop Who Killed Him”

Civil Beat reports on how Hawai‘i lawmakers have protected officers with misconduct records from public scrutiny for decades.

“Understanding The Use Of Pōpolo, Haole And Māhū”

Kumu Hina Wong-Kalu offers a native perspective to terminology and their modern conceptualization.

Important Dates for Hawai‘i Elections

A one-sheet listing key dates in the local primary and general elections by mail. The last day to register to vote is July 9. More info at elections.hawaii.gov.

Pono for the People

Non-partisan collective dedicated to fair information exchange and helping navigate people’s political consciousness in Hawaiʻi. Also find easy-to-read guides on Hawai‘i’s voting processes on @ponoforthepeople.

Why the Honolulu Prosecutor Election Matters

A primer explaining the role of the prosecuting attorney for the city and county of Honolulu and local candidates in the race. Also consider the comments in this post and stay informed.

Meet Your 2020 Hawai‘i Island Prosecutorial Candidates

A survey to all three candidates for Hawai‘i Island asking them about key Smart Justice issues such as systemic racism, transparency and police misconduct from ACLU Hawaii. Full questionnaire also available.


National Organizations

Reclaim the Block

Black Lives Matter

Black Visions Collective

The Bail Project

The National Police Accountability Project

The Okra Project

For the Gworls

Marsha P. Johnson Institute

Black Futures Lab


Local Organizations

African Diversity Cultural Center Hawaiʻi

African American on Maui Association

African Diversity Cultural Center Hawaiʻi

African American on Maui Association

Honolulu African American Film Festival

NAACP Honolulu Branch

Hawaii Community Bail Fund


Local Businesses

Here is an ongoing spreadsheet of Black-owned businesses to support across Hawaiʻi created by Bianca Wagner.


Reading List

The End of Policing by Alex S. Vitale. Free eBook available to download.

Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi

Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More by Janet Mock

“Local Kine Implicit Bias: Unconscious Racism Revisited (Yet Again)” by Charles R. Lawrence III

Asian Settler Colonialism: From Local Governance to the Habits of Everyday Life in Hawai‘i by Candace Fujikane and Jonathan Y. Okamura

Coal by Audre Lorde. More poetry, essays, and speeches by Lorde available.

Another Elegy [“This is what our dying looks like”] by Jericho Brown

Freedom Is a Constant Struggle by Angela Davis

Letter from a Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King Jr.

“Photographers documenting unrest need to examine their motivation” by Marie Eriel Hobro

A Conversation with Black Lives Matter Co-founder Patrisse Khan-Cullors by Anna Harmon

A Reckoning Over Objectivity, Led by Black Journalists by Wesley Lowery

The False Promise of Anti-racism Books by Saida Grundy

The 1619 Project by The New York Times


Viewing Materials

13th (2016). Directed by Ava DuVernay.

Ta-Nehisi Coates in Conversation (2018). Recorded at the Honolulu Museum of Art.

The Criterion Collection’s Canon Highlighting Black Life. Many of these films, which include pioneering works by Julie Dash, Maya Angelou, Kathleen Collins, and William Greaves, are now streaming free. Learn more here.

Do The Right Thing (1989). Directed by Spike Lee.

James Baldwin and Nikki Giovanni: A Conversation (1971). Taped in London.

Love is the Message, The Message Is Death (2016). Directed by Arthur Jafa.

An Interview with Toni Morrison (1998). Aired on Charlie Rose.

The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 (2011). Directed by Göran Olsson.

Haunani Kay-Trask on the Beating and Trial of Rodney King (1991). Aired on the Hawai‘i television program First Friday.

How to Haole (1991). From a forum on academic freedom at UH Mānoa, archived by Nā Maka o ka ʻĀina.

Time: The Kalief Browder Story (2017). Directed by Jenner Furst.

So Y’all Finally Get It | Still Processing (2020). Jenna Wortham and Wesley Morris, hosts of the “Still Processing” podcast, reunite (remotely) to unpack the reckonings of these past few weeks.

E Iho Ana ‘o Luna. E Pi‘i Ana ‘o Lalo (2020). A Virtual Conversation with Dr. Jamaica Osorio on longstanding ties between Native Hawaiian sovereignty and Black liberation.


Allyship Resources

10 Steps to Non-Optical Allyship

14 Black Funds & 23 Creative Ecosystems to Support

Part 2! Funds & Creative Ecosystems That Support Black Folks

20+ Allyship Actions for Asians to Show Up for the Black Community Right Now

Virtual Protesting 101

A Call Out to Support Black Trans Women

#BlackTransLivesMatter: Actions & Resources for Solidarity


Accounts to Follow

@blklivesmatter

@blackvisionscollective

@reclaimtheblock

@popoloproject

@mnfreedomfund

@aclu_nationwide

@acluhawaii

@decolonizethisplace

@colorofchange

@osopepatrisse

@chasinggarza

@opalayo

@museummammy

@janayathefuture

@raquel_willis

@ashlukadraws

@janetmock

@hawaiiforblacklives

@af3irmhawaii

@forthegworls

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