Our Perspective

Presented at the 11th INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION AND JUSTICE

(online) 17-18 September 2021

As young Micronesian leaders and community advocates, KKV’s Grant Writer Carol Ann Carl and KVIBE Coordinator Austin Haleyalpiy were invited to present at the online conference “Movement Building Against the Attacks on Teaching—and Toward a Vision of Justice” organized by Kevin Kumashiro Consulting.

Educators, scholars, leaders, advocates, and educational organizations and institutions from across the United States and around the world were invited to present on research, resources, resistance, and reforms that counter the attacks on teaching and teachers while advancing a more just vision through curriculum, legislation and policy, teacher preparation, organizing, leadership, institutional change, reframing, and so on. Presentations were intended to build on the “Background Brief” and facilitate consciousness raising, critical self-reflection, and collective action as we engage in movement building for justice.

Below is the statement presented by Carl and Haleyalpiy

Critical Truths (and Hope) in Paradise

The State of Hawaii is reputed to be a melting pot for an array of peoples and an ultimate getaway for tourism. Paradoxically on a microcosmic level, Kalihi, one of the last working-class neighborhoods in urban Honolulu, is also a melting pot for an array of peoples rich with cultural diversity yet rife with socioeconomic inequity. This densely populated community of primarily Asian/Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders (ANHPI) packed into 21.6 square miles is home to a majority of Hawai’i’s new immigrants and four of its largest public housing complexes. Many of these ANHPI communities are canoe communities, descendant of navigators who cross oceans by way of non-instrumental navigation. Like their ancestors, these immigrant communities travelled many miles to Kalihi away from the familiar, in search of resources, connections, and home. In this presentation, we explore the concepts of place-based identity and liberation pedagogy, and how storytelling culture opens up students to critical consciousness - understanding the social context of our lives and our lives as transformers of the social context, thereby using culturally accountable education as a lens for justice.

KKV applauds our young leaders for advocating for their communities. We work to uplift and celebrate Kalihi youth through programs such as KVIBE, the Waiwai Fellowship, Americorps, and the many volunteer and educational training programs throughout KKV such as the Dental residency program in collaboration with NYU Langone, UH Manoa Dental Assistant program, and the National Institute of Medical Assistant Advancement (NIMAA).