Future Race and Ethnicity in Hawaii

Future Race and Ethnicity in Hawaii

Though some see Hawaii as a “multicultural model for the world”(Value of Hawaii), it is not without flaws. In the past, Hawaii had its share of racial tension. That racial tension has lessened over the years. My hope for Hawaii’s future is for it to become a place where race and ethnicity are irrelevant to the way people see and treat others.

My theory on social change is that it will occur continuously, because we are ever changing and developing. Curtain events may also cause social change among the people of Hawaii whether they are aware of it or not, and weather it happens gradually or drastically.

The events that led to racial and ethnic discrimination in Hawaii started with the arrival of a new race in Hawaii, Captain Cook in 1776. The arrival of the Samoans in the 1950’s, Micronesians in the 1980’s, and Asians in the 1960’s(value of Hawaii). This started discrimination because the whites thought that the Hawaiians were uneducated, and that they were better than the Hawaiians. So this is where racial or ethnic discrimination really began, when two racial or ethnic groups were brought together, and treated each other differently because of their race / ethnicity.

One event in history was largely related to the discrimination because of race. That was the Thalia Massie case. It related to race and ethnicity because the men that were accused of raping Thalia were Hawaiian, Japanese, and a mixture of Chinese and Hawaiian. It was a haole woman who accused them, and went to court against them (American experience). This brought the ethnic groups of Hawaii closer, and made other races be on the same side, and help each other. So it was mainly the whites that thought of everyone else less important, and it helped all the foreigners with darker skin to realize that they were on the same side as the Hawaiians (Value of Hawaii).

Nowadays, the racial tension in Hawaii is much less. In the book value of Hawaii, they talk about how now there are many interracial marriages, and now this shows that people from a different race /ethnic group are becoming more and more comfortable with each other. Just like Obama and his parents. Both parents are of different race, but they didn’t discriminate against each other because of it (Value of Hawaii).

If I could, I would change the fact that there is racial discrimination. I know that it is almost impossible, but I hope that Hawaii and every one here will not feel as if they are better than anyone else because of their white skin. I also hope that everyone will be treated the same no matter if you are white, or if you have dark skin. I think that all the same opportunities should be given to everyone, and that people will not make a stereotype that one ethnic group is less smart than another, and treat people of that ethnicity different because of it.

Sources

Primary

Excerpt from Thalia Massie’s statement on Honolulu police (3:30a.m, sep. 13, 1993).13
Sep, 1931. john McIntosh. HYPERLINK " HYPERLINK "http://www.law.imkc.edc/faculty/projects/ftrials/massie/thaliastmt.html" \t "_blank" http://www.law.imkc.edc/faculty/projects/ftrials/massie/thaliastmt.html" HYPERLINK "http://www.law.imkc.edc/faculty/projects/ftrials/massie/thaliastmt.html" \t "_blank" http://www.law.imkc.edc/faculty/projects/ftrials/massie/thaliastmt.html

This source is part of the police report about Thalia being raped, and what she told the police that happened to her.

The Massie Afair. DVD. Dir. Mark2wonitzer. Hidden hill, 2005. 55:51 min.

This source was a video that provided information on the Thalia Massie case and how it had an effect on racial tension in Hawaii.

Racial Tensions Nanette Napoleon. The Massie Affair. 2 November 2010. HYPERLINK "http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/massie/sfeature/sf_video.html" \t "_blank" http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/massie/sfeature/sf_video.html

This is a video of Nanette Napoleon talking about racial tension in Hawaii and how Hawaii was really a very peacefull place. And though there was a little bit of racial tension in Hawaii at the time, the sailors and the natives would get along rather well. This provided us on information about the racial tension in Hawaii and how the case effected that.

Secondary

Hawai’i the Past 50 Years the Next 50 Years. Arioshi George R. Watermark Publishing. 2009. 5 Dec. 2010.

This source provided a history of Hawaii, and an example for the future.

Value of Hawaii. Craig Howes. Jon Osorio. University of Hawaii Press. 2010.7, dec. 2010.

This source provided information on race and ethnicity in Hawaii.