Maui County Mayor Michael Victorino presents the Juneteenth proclamation to African Americans on Maui Association spokesperson Ayin Adams. Other Juneteenth supporters include (left to right) Bryant Neal, Patricia Roberts, Adams, Mayor Victorino, Gwen Gorg and Kahu Leiohu Ryder. — GARY T. KUBOTA photo
Maui County Mayor Michael Victorino joined the Valley Isle’s African American community and dignitaries nationally June 19 to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States in June 1865. Victorino proclaimed “Aloha Juneteenth Freedom Month” in Maui County.
“Aloha is not just a word. It’s a way of life,” Victorino told a gathering in front of the Maui County building.
Juneteenth, a combination of the words “June Nineteenth,” is the freedom day designated by many African Americans and the longest running African American holiday in the United States. The annual holiday is observed in 47 states, but not in three states, including Hawaii.
As the Black Lives Matter movement grows on Maui and nationally, support has been increasing to make Juneteenth an annual national holiday.
A coalition of groups participated in the gathering, including leaders of the annual statewide Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Peace Poetry Awards.
Sandra Shawhan, vice president of the African Americans on Maui Association, the organizer of the gathering, said Juneteenth represents an important turning point for the United States and for human rights.
“Juneteenth deserves, now more than ever, to have its own day in the spotlight,” said Shawhan, a retired principal of South Maui’s Kamalii Elementary School.
Association executive director Ayin Adams said being a part of this movement means working through negative feelings to understand that each one of the people in attendance counted.
“Let us finish,” she said.
The celebration took place in front of the Maui County building and the Stone Of Hope honoring civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Juneteenth was celebrated first in 1865 in Texas to observe the day federal troops arrived to take control of the Lone Star State and enforce the freeing of enslaved people.
The action in Texas, which freed 250,000 slaves, was two years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring freedom for all enslaved people in Confederate States in rebellion against the nation.
The federal enforcement in Texas was two days after Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomatax Court House in Virginia, marking the end of the rebellion and civil war.
African Americans and their supporters celebrated a jubilee the following year and its observance has spread to nearly all states.
In 1979, Texas became the first state to make Juneteenth an official holiday.
A coalition of Asian American and Pacific Islanders has formed nationally in support of Black Lives Matter.
The festivities commenced with an oli and lei draping ceremony in honor of Kamehameha the Great led by the resort’s Hawaiian Cultural Ambassador “Aunty Wendy” Tuivaioge. The celebration included gifting employees with groceries to aid in some of the need that has been caused by the resort’s temporary suspension of operations in late March. The drive-thru celebration was designed to observe social distancing and gathering restrictions. Employees respectfully kept the flow of traffic moving, while still getting into the spirit by dressing in aloha wear and bringing lei to honor King Kamehameha I. The full day of events was streamed onto the employee Facebook page, so staff could enjoy the entire event virtually.
HawaiiONTV.com photo
A woman waters plants outside her plantation camp home. — Photo courtesy of the Alexander & Baldwin Sugar Museum
Maui County Mayor Michael Victorino presents the Juneteenth proclamation to African Americans on Maui Association spokesperson Ayin Adams. Other Juneteenth supporters include (left to right) Bryant Neal, Patricia Roberts, Adams, Mayor Victorino, Gwen Gorg and Kahu Leiohu Ryder. — GARY T. KUBOTA photo
Mitchell Loewen of the New Orleans Saints sits on the field after suffering an injury during a preseason game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in August 2018. — AP file photo
Mitchell Loewen, a 2011 Lahainaluna High School graduate, was cut by the Saints in May. — AP file photo
Bill Monahan, who served one term in the state House, died May 30. He was a businessman, decorated veteran of the Korean War and a star athlete. — The Maui News file photo
Maui High School students Jaelen Matsuda-Williams (from left) Sarah Sakakihara, and John Andrei Balanay pose for a group photo during the Maui District History Day competition in February at the University of Hawaii-Maui College. Their performance advanced them to Hawaii State History Day and eventually Nationals, where they finished second in the senior website division. — GWEN JARAMILLO photo
Roi, which were introduced to Hawaiian waters, may be a misunderstood fish. Researchers say their impacts on reefs and wildlife may not be all bad. — KEOKI STENDER photo
This is a map of a sub-area of the draft West Maui Community Plan, which looks at mainly Lahaina town and its business, urban and small town center designations. The draft community plan will be reviewed by the Maui Planning Commission beginning July 28.