Hawaiʻi Public Radio has been proud to work with the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Ethnic Studies Center for Oral History in a partnership that began in 2018 with segments on The Conversation.
Right now, as part of an ongoing joint project, we're bringing you voices from Hawaiʻi’s past that are centered around a different theme every month, with each segment relating to community perseverance and resilience. You can hear these voices on Morning Edition and All Things Considered, and once a month on The Conversation.
Since the beginning of this current project in September 2022, we've heard from labor organizers during Hawaiʻi's plantation days, activists involved with the Protect Kaho‘olawe ‘Ohana, and political leaders of the Democratic and Republican parties. This collaboration is supported by the SHARP Initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities through the American Council of Learned Societies.
Read and listen to those stories below and stay tuned for more.
Labor movement during Hawaiʻi's plantation days
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Hawaiʻi State ArchivesLabor Day is a reminder of how organized labor helped transform working conditions in Hawaiʻi. As part of a project with the UH Mānoa Ethnic Studies Center for Oral History, HPR is bringing you voices of Hawaiʻi’s past — sharing life stories of resilience. -
AP/Honolulu Star-BulletinNearly 14,000 sugar workers went on strike for 128 days. But the strike was nonviolent, and there was a sense that management and the union had become partners to survive the industry. As part of a continuing partnership with the University of Hawaiʻi at Manōa Center for Oral History, HPR brings you the voice of a union worker remembering that strike. -
Hawaiʻi State ArchivesBefore tourism, sugar and pineapple dominated Hawaiʻi’s economy, employing more than 19,000 workers. As part of a project with the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Ethnic Studies Center for Oral History, HPR is bringing you voices of Hawaiʻi's past — sharing life stories of resilience. -
U.S. National Archives and Records Administration/U.S. National Archives and Records AdministrationIt’s been 115 years since James Dole moved his pineapple canning operations to Honolulu — and more than 30 years since it closed. But you can still hear the stories of those who worked there, thanks to the Center for Oral History at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.
Reviving Kahoʻolawe after decades of military bombing
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Public Domain/U.S. Navy/Wikimedia CommonsThirty-two years ago this month, the U.S. government stopped a practice it had been conducting since late 1941: the military bombing of Kahoʻolawe. As part of an ongoing project with the Center for Oral History at UH Mānoa, HPR brings you the voices of two Native Hawaiians who lived through that period. -
Franco Salmoiraghi/Courtesy Arts and Letters NuʻuanuThirty-two years ago, the U.S. military stopped using the island of Kahoʻolawe for bombing exercises. As part of an ongoing project with the Center for Oral History at UH Mānoa, HPR brings you the voices of two members of the Protect Kahoʻolawe ʻOhana. -
Kahoʻolawe Island Reserve Commission/FacebookForty years ago, ceremonies on Kahoʻolawe were revived after decades of military bombing practice. As part of our ongoing project with the Center for Oral History at UH Mānoa, two activists shared the deep spiritual reconnections that helped redefine the future of Hawaiian movements. -
Franco SalmoiraghiEthnic studies professor Ty Kāwika Tengan shares the stories of three Native Hawaiian leaders talking about their connection to Kahoʻolawe and aloha ʻāina: Colette Machado, Martha Evans and Jon Osorio.
History of Hawaiʻi's political landscape
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Robert Knudsen. White House Photographs. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston/Public DomainWith less than a week until Election Day, we're looking back at Hawaiʻi’s political past when organizers and workers were the backbones of campaigns. As part of our ongoing project with the UH Mānoa Center for Oral History, we hear insights from two men who worked behind the scenes to support the late Gov. John A. Burns. -
Casey Harlow / HPRIt’s been a little more than a week since Election Day, and while the national picture remains a bit unsettled, Hawaiʻi's political outlook is pretty clear. It’s dominated by Democrats — that’s been the story since shortly before statehood. As part of our ongoing project with the UH Mānoa Center for Oral History, we hear insights from two politicians about the legacy of progressives in Hawaiʻi. -
AP/APWhen it comes to political parties, Hawaiʻi has been dominated by the Democrats since the elections of 1954. As part of an ongoing project with the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Center for Oral History, we hear from some Republican leaders who played a role in the state's political discussions and debates. -
University of HawaiiIn about a week and a half, Josh Green will take office as the next governor of Hawaiʻi. At this time of change for the administration, we're taking a look back at a turning point in the state's political history: the 1978 Hawaiʻi Constitutional Convention, sometimes known as the "Con Con."
Resilience during Japanese American incarceration and World War II
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Anonymous/AP/APEighty-one years ago, the Japanese Navy launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, bringing the United States into World War II. As part of an ongoing project with the UH Mānoa Center for Oral History, we bring you the voices of those who witnessed that day in Honolulu. -
JCCH/U.S. Army Signal Corps Collection/Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai'iWhen Hawaiʻi was under martial law 81 years ago, military officials had unprecedented power, and some individuals from the Japanese community were arrested. In our ongoing project with the Center for Oral History, we hear from community members who moved to mainland incarceration centers to be with their fathers. -
Anonymous/AP/NATIONAL ARCHIVESWorld War II brought martial law to Hawaiʻi — and hardship to many Japanese Americans who were put in concentration camps on the continent. Many families voluntarily left Hawaiʻi to join their loved ones at those camps. That experience not only upended lives but also changed them. -
ASSOCIATED PRESSLooking ahead to the new year, you might consider what this season was like 81 years ago in Hawaiʻi. It was a time of rationing, blackouts, and media censoring. With our partners at the UH Mānoa Center for Oral History, we're bringing you the voices of those who experienced it.
The path toward recovering Native Hawaiian practices
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Hawaiʻi State ArchivesNext Tuesday marks the 130th anniversary of the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy. With the UH Center for Oral History, HPR brings you the voices of Hawaiʻi Supreme Court Justice William S. Richardson and Moloka'i Hawaiian homesteader Adolph Helm, two community leaders who paved the way for public beach access. -
Courtesy North Shore Field SchoolWe have another slice of local history for your ears as part of our continuing project with the UH Mānoa Center for Oral History. These oral histories from the North Shore Field School feature kūpuna from Oʻahu's North Shore talking about Native Hawaiian culture, family and community. -
Courtesy Center for Oral History at UH MānoaLate last year, Hawaiʻi lost a healer who played a crucial role in the state's cultural development. Dr. Noa Emmett Auwae Aluli was a physician on Molokaʻi and a leader of the movement that returned Kahoʻolawe to the people of Hawaiʻi from the control of the U.S. military. His story was this week's segment from the UH Center for Oral History. -
Hawaiʻi Public RadioThe Hawaiian language was banned in schools starting in 1896 and was not heard in classrooms for four generations, according to the DOE. In recognition of Mahina ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi and as part of our project with the UH Mānoa Center for Oral History, we focus on the evolution of the use of Hawaiian from education to music. -
Nick YeeThis month we are celebrating Mahina ʻŌlelo Month, or Hawaiian Language month. Our stories are all in ‘Ōlelo Hawaiʻi from a collection of interviews with kūpuna who were born in Kona around the turn of the 20th century. -
University of Hawaiʻi NewsThe growth of Hawaiian language immersion schools has exploded in recent years. Fifty years ago, there were only a handful of Hawaiian language speakers. Now, the community is thriving. With the Center for Oral History, we're sharing how that story stretches from kupuna to keiki.
Black History Month: Adapting to Hawaiʻi despite prejudice
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Center for Oral History at the University of HawaiʻiFebruary is Black History Month, but the story of African Americans in Hawaiʻi is one that is often not heard. As part of our continuing project with the Center for Oral History, we're taking a listen to two people who had very different experiences in mid-20th century Hawaiʻi. -
Center for Oral History at the University Of HawaiʻiErnest Golden was born in 1923 in Athens, Georgia. He left the South in 1942 for a civil service job in Hawaiʻi and stayed afterward in the airport porter industry. Golden shared his thoughts on the challenges of building community through business and assimilation. With the Center for Oral History, we're bringing you his voice and many others during Black History Month.
Third anniversary of Hawaiʻi's pandemic shutdown
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Caleb Jones/AP/The Associated PressIt was three years ago this week that the Department of Health announced the first case of COVID-19 in Hawaiʻi. Before the month was out, a stay-at-home order and travel restrictions were put in place. We're taking a look back at Hawaiʻi's pandemic response with the Center for Oral History. -
University of Hawaiʻi NewsCOVID-19 is still very much a part of daily life for many people across the islands. This month marks three years from the start of stay-at-home orders and other restrictions. The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa was one group that scrambled to adjust in the early days of the pandemic. -
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty ImagesThree years since the pandemic began, sometimes we can forget the amount of uncertainty and fear in those early days of COVID. As part of our continuing project with the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa's Center for Oral History, we are focusing on the experience of health care workers. -
Caleb Jones/AP/APThree years ago today, “lockdown” was a keyword across the islands. As the pandemic stretched on, those on the front lines included medical workers, but also people working in restaurants and schools.
Tsunami Awareness Month: The 1946 Hilo tsunami
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On April 1, 1946, an 8.6 magnitude earthquake off the Aleutian Islands triggered a massive wave that killed nearly 160 people. For Tsunami Awareness Month in Hawaiʻi, we're marking the anniversary of the deadliest tsunami to strike the islands in modern times.
Earth Month: Protecting Hawaiʻi's rare habitats
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Sophia McCullough/HPRTo mark Earth Month and Native Hawaiian Plant Month, we're focusing on Hawaiʻi's natural world and rare habitats — and some of the people who have cared for them at Haleakalā National Park. Through our partnership with the Center for Oral History, two retired park rangers shared their experience protecting the park’s native plants. -
Janice Wei/National Park ServiceAs part of our series with the Center for Oral History at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, we heard from Rose Freitas Cambra, Walter Pu and Rhonda Loh about protecting Hawaiʻi's natural world at our national parks.
May Day is Lei Day
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May 1 is Lei Day here in Hawaiʻi — a tradition that goes back to the 1920s. Our partners at the Center for Oral History shared the voices of a couple of longtime lei sellers who started out helping their parents and went on to run their own Honolulu airport stands.
Building resilience as sea level rise threatens coastal areas
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Hawaiʻi State ArchivesThe Waikīkī and Ala Moana areas are especially vulnerable to coastal erosion and flooding linked to sea level rise. They used to be wetlands, ponds and waterways before they were drained for the Ala Wai Canal. Our partners at the Center for Oral History shared some firsthand memories of marine life from the early 1900s. -
Hawaiʻi State ArchivesFood security continues to be an issue around the islands, but traditional methods like fishponds are helping to build resilience. Researchers say ponds produced nearly 2 million pounds of fish a year before Western contact. With the Center for Oral History, we're sharing voices of experience when it comes to managing fishponds. -
Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi/HPRLimu is not just seaweed, it's the foundation of the marine life food chain. Our partners at the Center for Oral History at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa introduce limu gatherers Wally Ito, Vivian Lehua Ainoa and Alyson Napua Barrows. -
Hawaiʻi State ArchivesSea level rise is a global concern that also hits home here in Hawaiʻi. But it's not just a story about the ocean. It's also about sand and sea walls. With our partners at the UH Mānoa Center for Oral History, we're sharing perspectives from those who remember sand dunes in Waiʻanae and wide beaches in Kailua.
