| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 52,069 (4.0%, 2010)29,307 (2.3%, African alone, 2010) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Languages | |
| English,Portuguese,Spanish,French,Hawaiian (rarely) | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Cape Verdean,African American,Afro-Caribbean,Afro-Asians |
TheAfricans in Hawaii, also known asPōpolo inHawaiian, constitute 4% of the islands' population, including those partially Black, and 2.3% of Hawaiians are ofAfrican American,Afro-Caribbean, orAfrican immigrant descent alone. The Black Hawaiian population is mostly concentrated in theGreater Honolulu area, especially near military installations. There is also a sizableCape Verdean American population, and there are some Hispanic people, namelyPuerto Ricans.
"Pōpolo" (cognate toMāori:poroporo)[1] means blackberry inHawaiian referring to theblack nightshade, it can also be used to describe alobelia or apokeberry. Pōpolo became used to describe the dark skin ofAfrican people from an analogy to the color of its berries.[2][3]
The first Africans to visit Hawaii weredeckhands on merchant and whaling ships, and came fromCape Verde, theUnited States (African Americans), and theCaribbean (West Indians).[4] Some of these early Africans, Caribbeans, and Black Americans ended their maritime careers and settled in Hawai'i. A number of them were successful musicians, business men, and respected royal government officials in theKingdom of Hawaiʻi.[5]
Throughout the 1800s, there were a few prominent Black Americans in Hawaiian society. One was Anthony D. Allen (1774–1835), an ex-slave. He came to Hawaii in 1810 as awhaler and eventually became asteward ofKamehameha I. By 1820, Anderson owned twelve houses and a farm, and ran a local boarding house, bowling alley, and hospital.[6] The first two leaders of theRoyal Hawaiian Band underKamehameha III: Oliver and George Washington Hyatt (1815–1870) were also African-Americans.[7] A former slave who accompanied the American Protestant missionaries to Hawaii,Betsey Stockton started the first mission school inLahaina open to the common people.[8]
Prior to independence in 1975, many Cape Verdeans emigrated to Hawaii from drought-strickenPortuguese Cape Verde, formerly anoverseas province of Portugal. Because these people arrived using their Portuguese passports, they were registered asPortuguese immigrants by the authorities.
Following theEmancipation Proclamation in 1863, the Hawaiian government became interested in the prospect of contracting freed slaves for labor in Hawaii. The thought of the four million slaves suddenly thrust onto the open market prompted Hawaiian Foreign MinisterRobert Crichton Wyllie to write to a prominent friend inBoston, "We could perhaps admit with advantage to ourselves, say 20,000 freed Negroes, pay them the wages and give them the treatment of free men." Although nothing came out of it due to the inability of PresidentAbraham Lincoln to enforce the law in the South.[9]
By 1910 there were still only 695 Africans in Hawaii, of whom 537 were multiracial.[10] Following theOverthrow of the Hawaiian Monarchy by White plantation elites, an unofficial race-class system was established with "Whites" at the top, "Browns" in the middle, and "Yellows" at the bottom. Fortunately for the Africans, their dark skin categorized them as "Brown" people, a category mostly comprisingHawaiians andPolynesians. This allowed them to ascend to theworking andmiddle classes.[11] Since annexation, the immigration barriers were lifted and attempts were made to bring laborers of African descent fromTennessee,Mississippi, andAlabama to Hawaii to work thesugarcaneplantations. Since the logistics of getting Africans to Hawaii proved too difficult to make them a practical source of labor, only 300 made the journey. Many did not stay on plantations after their contracts expired, finding Hawaii's plantation life deplorable. Although they considered themselves better off returning to the plantations of the Southern United States, most could not afford the cost of leaving Hawaii.[12] Despite the horrid conditions at the bottom of society, most Africans were acquainted with the Western world either from life in the United States or inColonial Africa. As Hawaii wasAmericanized during the Territorial period, Africans could identify opportunities that went unnoticed by other groups not acquainted with the Western system. Many skilled African-Americans immigrated to escape the racism on the mainland and not be denied work in theirtrade orprofession. Although racial hostilities existed with Whites, Whites were a minority.Alice A. Ball earned her master's degree at theUniversity of Hawaii and taught there as a chemistry instructor. She discovered theBall's Method, asymptomatic treatment forleprosy that bears her namesake.[13] One of the most iconic figures was Hawaii-bornPeter Hose (1881–1925) known as the "Hula Cop" joined theHonolulu Police Department becoming the first police officer of African ancestry in Hawaii, where he served for 18 years.[14]
With the onset ofWorld War I, 200 members of the25th Infantry Regiment were stationed in Hawaii to avert racial tensions, being that Hawaii had a predominantly non-white population.
DuringWorld War II the military drew African-Americans to Hawaii. 600 ship workers and thousands of soldiers arrived. TheWest Loch Disaster occurred on May 21, 1944, when theLST-353’s cargo of ammunition and fuel ignited, killing 163; several of the dead were African-Americans. Subsequent wars in Asia continued to bring African-Americans through Hawaii. The result of military movement was that many returned to live in Hawaii after leaving the service.
After World War II, many residents of color in Hawaii were educated by theG.I. bill belligerent towards the racial stratification. Several African Americans includingFrank M. Davis were able to relate to the plight of the Black race on the US continent and participated in the "Bloodless Revolution" that overthrew the rule of Hawaii's White minority and the race-class structure of the Territory.
