OHA Trustee Keli'i Akina: My Martin Luther King Day Message to You

As your OHA Trustee-at-Large, I daily strive to honor Dr. Martin Luther King and make his dream a reality for Hawaii. All of us in Hawaii are the reason Dr. King and his fellow marchers wore garlands of lei during the famous march in Selma. King visited our islands in 1959 and addressed both houses of our newly formed state legislature, telling them: "As I think of the struggle that we are engaged in in the South land, we look to you [Hawaii] for inspiration and as a noble example, where you have already accomplished in the area of racial harmony and racial justice, what we are struggling to accomplish in other sections of the country. " 

Today, there is a growing stereotype of Native Hawaiians as a monolithic group that opposes all that is American and asserts exclusive rights against the majority of others who have made Hawaii their home. This stereotype is clearly not the true picture. The majority of Native Hawaiians are also of Japanese, Chinese, Caucasian, Filipino, and countless other racial backgrounds 

All the people of Hawai`i deserve a future where King’s dream is realized by our keiki. 

As your OHA Trustee-at-Large, I will strive to honor Dr. King and make his dream a reality for Hawaii.

E hana kakou/ Let`s work together!

Keli`i Akina, Ph. D.

Trustee-at-Large,

Office of Hawaiian Affairs

DISCLAIMER: The contents of this message are the personal views of Trustee Keli`I Akina and not necessarily the position or views of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs or its Board of Trustees.