Ethnicity and Inequality in Hawai'i

by Jonathan Y. Okamura

Challenging the dominant view of Hawai'i as a "multicultural model"—a place of ethnic tolerance and equality—Jonathan Okamura examines how ethnic inequality is structured and maintained in island society. He finds that ethnicity, not race or class, signifies difference for Hawaii’s people and therefore structures their social relations. In Hawai'i, residents attribute greater social significance to the presumed cultural differences among ethnic groups than to more obvious physical differences, such as skin color.

According to Okamura, ethnicity regulates disparities in access to resources, rewards, and privileges among ethnic groups, as he demonstrates in his analysis of socioeconomic and educational inequalities in the state. He shows that socially and economically dominant ethnic groups—Chinese Americans, Japanese Americans, and whites—have stigmatized and subjugated the islands’ other ethnic groups—especially Native Hawaiians, Filipino Americans, and Samoans. He demonstrates how ethnic stereotypes have been deployed against ethnic minorities and how these groups have contested their subordinate political and economic status by articulating new identities for themselves.

Genres: Nonfiction

256 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2008

Reviews

[*•Ava•* 🇵🇭 hapa haole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book as part of my research for my senior thesis, which focuses on race relations in Hawai’i. I thought it was very good, it was one of if not the first piece of academic literature critically discussing Asian settler colonialism and its effects on the Native Hawaiian people. Still, there’s only been so much academic work focusing on the contributions of marginalized groups to colonial power structures, and his work was truly groundbreaking. I think some don’t fully understand the depth of his argument including Asian complacency with Native Hawaiian oppression, especially when examined from a standpoint of socioeconomic power, not understanding the nuance in his work.
More recently, Nitasha Tamar Sharma published her book “Hawai’i is my Haven” which also critically analyzes the role settler populations on the islands play in the subjugation of indigenous populations. Her book focuses on the discourse of localness, and brings black transplants in Hawai’i into the discussion, and critical point of investigation into the race structures in Hawai’i as opposing the black/white binary found elsewhere in America.

[Cherie · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the deans at my job lent me this good; very helpful info on understanding DEI in Hawai'i. It's very academic, but valuable info for me as an educator living in Hawai'i.