LIHU‘E — There’s still time to join the YWCA of Kaua‘i’s first public Stand Against Racism Challenge, which enters its second week Monday.
The event is a localized version of a nationwide program, with Hawai‘i-specific content curated by YWCA associations on Kaua‘i, O‘ahu and Hawai‘i Island.
Participants study topics relating to equity and social justice Monday through Friday for 21 days. The Kaua‘i challenge will culminate in a free documentary screening later this month.
“It takes about 21 days to form a habit,” YWCA Kaua‘i Social Justice Advocate Emma White told The Garden Island. “So, if you’re exercising your racial justice muscles for about 21 days, it becomes more of a habit you’ll be forming.”
This year’s challenge opened with a week dedicated to critical race theory. Forthcoming topics include film and television, reproductive justice and living wage.
The living wage for a single adult with no children in Hawai‘i is $19.68 an hour, according to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Living Wage Calculator.
Aloha United Way’s most recent ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) financial hardship study found 51% of Hawai‘i jobs paid less than $20 per hour in 2018.
“The living wage goes up from there if you add children and if you add more people to the household,” White said. “That means roughly 50% of the population, you could estimate, is living under the living wage … women of color are disproportionately likely to make less than a living wage.”
White also highlighted a recent state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism report on Native Hawaiians in the state’s tourism sector.
The report found Native Hawaiians made up nearly 20% of the industry’s workforce, but were paid about 7% less than the average worker in the tourism industry ($36,000 in average annual wage income versus $38,750).
Documentary screening
The documentary, “Voices Behind Barbed Wire: Stories of Hawai‘i,” will screen in the Fine Arts Auditorium at Kaua‘i Community College in Puhi on Friday, April 29.
The film examines the United States’ internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. Its producer and one of its subjects, whose family experienced internment, will speak at the screening.
Five internment camps operated on Kaua‘i. “Voices Behind Barbed Wire” features stories from these local sites.
“Having this film screening at the end of our challenge is a really nice endcap. Japanese internment is an often forgotten about period in our American history,” White said. “But 120,000 people were imprisoned simply because of their race on American soil. Families were separated, given numbers, and we don’t do justice to the fact that is a part of our history.”
The event is free and tickets are not required. However, for event-preparation purposes, free tickets can be obtained online.
• Info: ywcakauai.org/
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Scott Yunker, reporter, can be reached at 245-0437 or syunker@thegardenisland.com.
