Brown Bag Biography - Hawai'i Stories of Change: Kōkua Hawaiʻi Oral History

When several poor minority communities in Hawai'i faced evictions in the 1970s, groups of volunteer organizers and their associates were willing to stand between the tenants and the bulldozers. The book, Hawaiʻi Stories of Change, includes interviews with Kokua Hawai'i organizers, community leaders and associates who helped to successfully resist the evictions and contributed to the beginnings of the Hawaiian Renaissance. Gary Kubota and Lawrence Kamakawio'ole will share their insights as they reflect on their involvement in the movement and their work on this book project.

Gary Kubota who was raised in Kalihi, then Pearl City, has received several national and regional awards awards in journalism, including recognition from the National Press Club and Walter Cronkite Best In the West. Kubota, a graduate of the University of Hawai'i, is also a playwright whose national touring play “Legend Of Ko’olau” is returning to the Doris Duke Theatre in November. He was a community organizer with Kokua Hawai'i.

Lawrence Kamakawiwo’ole, a graduate of Kamehameha High School, Georgetown University Law Center and Pacific University, was the first full-time director of the UH Ethnic Studies Program. He was a leader of the activist group Kokua Hawai'i in the 1970s and helped to lead the eviction resistance.

Ticket Information
Free and Open to the Public

Event Sponsor
The Center for Biographical Research and the Center for Oral History, Mānoa Campus

More Information
Janet Graham, (808) 956-3774, gabiog@hawaii.edu, http://blog.hawaii.edu/cbrhawaii/

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