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Kamehameha Schools alum heads White House initiative for AANHPI communities

A Kamehameha Schools student carries a sign that represents a 'strive for peace,' written in Hawaiian, while draped in the Hawaiʻi state flag.
Krista Rados
/
HPR
A Kamehameha Schools student carries a sign that represents a 'strive for peace,' written in Hawaiian, while draped in the Hawaiʻi state flag.

The White House released its "National Strategy to Advance Equity, Justice, and Opportunity for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Communities" this week. The plan outlines how 32 federal agencies will work to promote safety and address critical priorities for those communities.

Krystal Ka’ai, a graduate of Kamehameha Schools, is the first Native Hawaiian to ever lead the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. HPR sat down with her to talk about anti-Asian hate, the lack of racial break-up in data collection, and more.

This interview aired on The Conversation on Jan. 19, 2023. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1.

Born in Honolulu and raised on Hawaiʻi Island, Russell Subiono has spent the last decade working in local film, television and radio. He was previously the executive producer of The Conversation and host of HPR's This Is Our Hawaiʻi podcast. Contact him at rsubiono@hawaiipublicradio.org.
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