Racism in Hawaii

Racism in Hawaii is often an overlooked problem. This article will be mainly based on the racism that Micronesians and white people face in Hawaii. It will be focusing on why it's happening, when it started happening, and how people and the government are working to address these issues.

One of the most discriminated groups, if not the most discriminated group in Hawaii is Micronesian people. Micronesian people are the most recent wave of immigration to Hawaii. People from Micronesia were displaced from their homes because of US nuclear test bombings in the Marshall Islands. Many caucasian people also have been moving to Hawaii in smaller waves. Some reasoning behind this is the appeal of Hawaii is it's image as paradise, or to escape political troubles and culture wars in the mainland.

One of the main reasons for Micronesian immigration was because of US nuclear weapons testing. With this a treaty known as The Compact of Free Association (COFA). This treaty was established between the US and The Republic of the Marshall Islands, Republic of Palau, and the Federated States of Micronesia. The treaty allows for the peoples of these sovereign states to have easier immigration access to the US, so that's how they are able to immigrate with relative ease, but why is there discrimination against them?

Some of this hate seems to stem from economic priority they seem to get. In 2014 alone the state of Hawaii spent $163 million to support COFA migrants with social services, education and health care. The Federal government only provides Hawaii with $11 million a year for what's called “Compact-Impact Aid”. Many Hawaiians, and locals alike feel they are not being prioritized, fixing problems across the sea instead of fixing the ones at home. There are many issues such as homelessness and housing, many of which Native Hawaiians suffer the most from. 

In an interview conducted by Ke Ali’i, an anonymous person said “I see a lot of Micronesians with their gold grills, lifted trucks and flashy jewelry, and I get kind of irritated knowing that they get these benefits to where they can live like that while we still have homeless Hawaiians on the streets who don't seem to be prioritized”. Other locals don’t seem to have a problem with people in Micronesia but say it depends more on the person, kind of like one bad apple ruins the bunch. In another anonymous interview the interviewee stated, “The way some Micronesiasn act is like they own the island, and don’t have any respect for the culture”.