Tuesday, July 07, 2020

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM MCKINLEY HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI & KOANI FOUNDATION DIRECTOR KU`AHI WONG


























Aloha!

In addition to the on-the going nationwide movement to change inappropriate place names and to remove statues of racist individuals, there is ONE in Honolulu. 


Previously known as Honolulu High School, in 1911 it was renamed after the racist, imperialist U.S. President William McKinley who presided over the illegal annexation of Hawai'i to the United States. That was the high school I graduated from. As of the time of this post, I along with 2624 others signed a "Move On" Petition to restore it's previous name. The McKinley name from the school and the ki'i (statue) that stands in front, need to go.

Another statue of McKinley was removed from the center of the town of Arcata, CA on February 28, 2019. And in Alaska, the name Mount McKinley was changed to Denali as of August 2015.

I ask those who read this to PLEASE help us end racist imperialism in Hawai'i by supporting me and other like minded people in this effort. Your signature(s) on this petition AND sharing of this post is appreciated. I/we are hoping to also reach out to former alumni like myself (1964). Hea stay the URL: https://sign.moveon.org/petitions/restore-original-name

Additional information on the history of this issue and a lot more is posted on Facebook at - "Aloha Oe McKinley". 

Ku`ahi Wong
William McKinley High School Alumni
Director, Koani Foundation