Kamehameha Schools Unity Rally & March
Originally posted August 7, 2005.
By macpro
A sea of red filled the streets of Honolulu and the neighbor islands yesterday as thousands of Hawaiian people from all walks of life came out in support of Kamehameha Schools and their 117 year old Hawaiians only admissions policy. Media reports indicate that this was one of the strongest showing of Hawaiian unity in recent years. The Honolulu rally and march attracted an estimated crowd of around 10,000 to 15,000 protestors.
I attended the Iolani Palace rally to get pictures for my photo stock collection, publication to my website and for HawaiiReporter.com. It was my first time to attend such a rally. I was impressed by the crowd's turnout. I told one of my friends, if anyone can put together a successful rally at the last minute, it is the Hawaiian community. They have passionate issues which bring out a lot of emotion. You cannot attend one of these events without getting caught up in some of the emotional fervor.
I have mixed feelings on the issue of the Kamehameha Schools' admission policy. On one side, I can see the logic in the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court's decision which will overturn the school's longstanding policy. On the other side, this policy has been in place for 117 years and is considered a tradition if not a birthright for the Hawaiian community. The policy is based on the will and intent of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop. The school was set up as a gift by the princess to the Hawaiian children. It is a private institution that as far as I know, takes no government subsidies (they don't need it).
This ruling will probably have an impact on other privately held religious and gender preferred institutions.
One thing for sure, the Hawaiian community and the Kamehameha Schools in particular will not let this issue go away without fighting it. They plan to contest the court's ruling and take the issue all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary.
More photos at this link: macprohawaii.buzznet.com
