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Deloris Guttman (CEO) and HUGEAUX are members of African American Diversity Cultural Center Hawaii. AADCCH. Honolulu, Hawaii

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Compiled by Deloris Guttman - Intro by HUGEAUX

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Deloris Guttman

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www.aadcch.org

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The History of AFRICAN AMERICANS in HAWAII
compiled by Deloris Guttman

African American Diversity Cultural Center Hawaii. AADCCH

Introduction by Hugo R. Miller aka Hugeaux
web site: www.aadcch.org

Aloha!

PART #2 Final

Another family that arrived on Maui was the William F. Crockett family. Williams was an attorney for the Spreckerlsville Plantation on Maui. Later he became Maui District Magistrate and a member of the Territorial legislature. This position made him prominent in the community. His wife Annie Crockett was a teacher. She taught at Wailuku Elementary School. The school celebrated its 100th year Anniversary recently and Mrs. Crockett was acknowledged for her contributions. Her grandson Wendell Crockett, an attorney still resides on the Island of Maui. Mrs. Crockett was fond of flowers which was her hobby. She created numerous variations of the hibiscus. The State Flower is the yellow hibiscus which enhances the beauty of the Hawaiian Islands today.

Also during the early 1900's, a number of distinguished African Americans came to Honolulu and one was a well-known daguerrean photographer, James P. Ball, Sr. arrived in Hawaii with his son James Jr. who was an attorney in 1902. James Jr. daughter,

Alice Ball is the most noteworthy. Alice was the first African American to teach at the College at the University of Hawaii. She was a chemist instructor. During her laboratory research, she discovered a breath through for Hansen Disease known as
Leprosy. This pioneering treatment was called the “Ball Method” found in chalmoogra
seeds. She extracted the ether esters in the fatty acids from the chalmoogra oil. This
chemical was injected into leprosy patients to reduced the symptoms they suffered. This discovery brought relief to many patients with suffering from this disease. Her research findings were the beginning of discovering a cure for Hansen Disease.

The knowledge of Alice Ball's research was hidden for more than 80 years before it was coincidently discovered during a literature search. Alice died at the age 24 in 1916. The cause of her death is unknown.

A distinguished African American by the name of Charles Cottrill was appointed by President William Taft to be tax collector for the Hawaiian Territory in 1911. Today, this is called the Internal Revenue Services. He brought his wife and son with him. His
son attended Punahou School. Of course, Cotrill was a socialite who enjoyed the
privileges provided by prestigious country clubs and socialized with top business
executives associated with Hawaii's top five corporations who were family members of the first missionaries who came to Hawaii in 1821. He left the Hawaiian Islands in 1915 when President Wilson sent him to Ohio where he continued his political career.

In 1929, Nolle Smith, a high profile African American business man arrived in Honolulu. He served in the Territorial House of Representatives and became Territorial Assistant director of the Budget Bureau. Nolle was a member of the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii and was involved in a number of business ventures in the Islands.
In 1959, Essence Magazine ran an article about Blacks in Hawaii. Nolle's family was the highlight of the article.

It's interesting to note that African Americans like Frank Marshall Davis, a journalist and poet from Chicago found his way to the Hawaiian Islands. He moved to Honolulu with his second wife, a Chicago socialite, Helen Canfield Davis in 1948. Davis was known for his thought provoking poetry and found it to be a complimentary mode of self-expression. Living in the Islands gave Davis an opportunity to observe the Hawaiian
culture and customs first hand. In Honolulu, Davis also wrote a series of articles on
democracy Hawaiian style. Documentation of discrimination and racism in the Islands
were a testament to Davis' role as a significant voice and witness in the historical
process of Hawaii's economic development. He lived in Hawaii for 25 years before
his death in 1987.
The contributions and involvement of African Americans in the Hawaiian Islands over the last hundred years are very impressive.

Charles Campbell a young African American teacher of government & consumer
education a local high school (Farrington) was elected to the City Council of Honolulu.
He did it with his gasoline credit card and sign waving which is unique in the Islands.
Of course the 'sign waving' is a popular advertising technique for political candidates
today. After leaving the City Council, Campbell continued his political career. He was
elected to serve in the State House of Representatives and later became a State Senator.

In 1970, Honolulu was honored by the presence of a distinguish world renown African American by the name of Dr. George Johnson who moved to Island of Oahu with his wife to retire. He was the Dean of Howard University Law School and co-founder of
the University of Nigeria. After a few months of rest, he became involved in creation of the University of Hawaii Law School with Chief Justice William Richardson. The law
school open in 1973. He lived in Honolulu until his death in 1987.

Helene Hale, an African American was the first woman to hold a government executives office in Hawaii since Queen Liliuokalani. She embarked on her political career in 1964. Helen ran and won the election for executive of the Big Island which acted as mayor in 1962. As mayor, she wanted to revitalize Hilo. She collaborated with George Na'Ope and others in the community to establish the first “Merrie Monarch Festival” in April 1964. This event has become one of Hawaii's most popular tourist attraction.

In 2000, Helene Hale became the first woman of African descent to be elected to the State legislature at age 82. She served two terms in the State House of Representatives until her retirement in 2006 at age 86.


Copyright by African American Diversity Cultural Center Hawaii, AADCCH.
Permission Grant to HUGEAUX for reproducing