Civil rights ideals invoked across Islands
| • | Hilo marchers oppose war with Iraq |
| • | Thousands pay tribute with antiwar protests nationwide |
By James Gonser
Advertiser Staff Writer
A parade to honor the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wound through the streets of Waikiki yesterday, bringing out an enthusiastic crowd of spectators and showcasing a wide diversity of people who respect the ideals of civil rights in Hawai'i.
Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser
Hundreds of people, including Democrats and Republicans, gay support groups, church organizations, high school marching bands and nurses fresh from the picket lines, marched from Ala Moana Beach Park to Kapi'olani Park where a daylong program of events was held to honor the civil rights leader.
Matthew Guerero, 9, of Kaimuki, watched the Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade at Ala Moana Park.
Among the marchers were the friends and family of 11-year-old murder victim Kahealani Indreginal. They carried a banner that read "Victory Against Violence."
The body of the 'Aiea Elementary School sixth-grader was found Dec. 13 off the 'Aiea Loop Trail, three days after she was last seen. Christopher C. Aki, 20, has been charged in the case.
Auntie Chanelle, an Indreginal family member, said the marchers were trying to turn something bad into something good.
"We wanted to say you shouldn't do something violent against people you love," Chanelle said. "We are trying to make everybody wake up and open their eyes to taking care of their children and don't be violent."
Martin Luther King Day became an official holiday in Hawai'i in 1989.
Royce McKinney, a retired cement truck driver brought his family to watch the parade. Before it was designated an official holiday in Hawai'i, McKinney would take the day off work as a vacation day.
"I enjoy this very much," McKinney said. "Everybody should be down here. If they take off for Kamehameha Day, they should take off for this."
King died April 4, 1968, felled by a rifle shot while standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel, now a civil rights museum. He was in Memphis to support a strike by sanitation workers. James Earl Ray was sentenced in the crime and died in 1998.
On Kaua'i, residents gathered at noon for a multicultural "Spirit of Peace" celebration of King's life. It included the singing of Hawaiian songs by elementary and preschool children, Okinawan drumming, West African chanting and dancing, and speeches at the Kukui Grove Center main stage.
Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser
On Maui, more than 400 people participated in a peace march Saturday along Ka'ahumanu Avenue in Kahului. The event, organized by a group called Maui Peace Action, had dual aims: to celebrate King's life and to protest a possible U.S. war against Iraq.
James Young, of Toledo, Ohio, wore a T-shirt with a portrait of Martin Luther King Jr. while watching the King Day parade in Waikiki.
On the Big Island, several hundred people marked King's day with a protest against the looming war with Iraq.
The turnout on O'ahu totaled 84 parade units with between 2,500 and 3,000 marchers, said Don Hayman, vice president of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Coalition-Hawai'i.
"Today is about Martin Luther King Jr., but it is also about the civil rights movement," Hayman said. "King is an icon for so many people. The people coming down today show that when people work together for a cause, they can move mountains. That is what it is all about."
April Forsyth, a biology major at Chaminade University, moved here from Florida in August. She watched the parade from the Kalakaua Avenue sidewalk fronting Waikiki Beach.
"Where I come from we don't do any of this," Forsyth said. "We have a little tiny celebration. I think from the looks of it, everybody gets along. When I first came here everybody welcomed me and that was nice."
Hayman said the spirit of the civil rights movement is still alive, but simply holding a parade and a unity rally are not enough.
"We are here to celebrate all the people that made the civil rights movement what is was," Hayman said. "Unfortunately, we do it once a year, but it should be 365 days a year. Hopefully, when people come away from this they will be renewed, reinvigorated to go forward to do the right thing."
Hayman, who is from New York City, remembers hearing King's "I Have a Dream," speech as a 12-year-old and said there is still more work to do — in America and around the world.
"A lot of civil rights are being violated because of our national interests," Hayman said. "People need to understand that even though we have special interests abroad, we still have to treat each other with respect."
Hayman said the great turnout at the march and rally gives him hope for the future.
"We are here today because of the children and the future," he said. "I think there are people out there doing the right thing, that want to make a difference. We have a lot of volunteers here that believe in the things that Dr. King stood for."
Gene Parola didn't march in the parade because of a bad back, but said the event reminds him of the anti-war protests of the 1960s.
"For young people this is new and exciting," Parola said. "Some of us have been at it for 40 years. I'm encouraged to see so many people here today. It shows that there are a lot of people that still don't believe in violence."
Reach James Gonser at jgonser@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2431.
