Hula

by Jasmin Iolani Hakes

Where she was stupid, the school would educate. Where she was wrong, the school would right. Where she was brown, the school would white.

If every drop of water wanted to be its own, there would be no rain, no ocean. No life. If every star demanded its own sky, where would we be? We would have no map to lead us home.

One percent African American might make a guy Black, but if they used the same ruler to measure American Indian, they’d be writing checks until their fingers bled.

One percent Black, you Black. One percent Hawaiian, nah, you nothing. When the U.S. government is making the rules, there is only one guaranteed winner.

because haoles need experts to tell them that bombing an island with the full force of the American military does have an environmental impact).

We’d died, and now our language was dying too.