Summary Of The Massie-Kahahawai Case

Can we truly define racism in such a way that it is all-inclusive and understandable? Ruth Wilson Gilmore gives her definition of racism as the “state-sanctioned or extralegal production and exploitation of group-differentiated vulnerability to premature death in distinct but densely interconnected political geographies”. While this may seem difficult to understand, the best way to grasp her definition is through comparison to a real world situation, such as the infamous Massie rape trial and consequential murder of Joseph Kahahawai. The alleged rape of a white woman in Hawai’i, Thalia Massie, and her family’s murder of native Joseph Kahahawai captured nationwide attention in 1931. Not only does this case show how America’s racial hierarchy

The shocking outcome of Kahahawai’s murder trial not only infuriated Hawaiian residents, but destroyed any trust they had with the haole (white elite), calling them “traitors,” and always questioning their “conspiratorial maneuverings” to defend other haole (Rosa, 96-97). The racial hierarchy that created this distrust also served to reinforce a separation between the haole and native Hawaiians, thus leading to many natives questioning their power within their own society. They attempted to identify a “local identity,” which “position[ed] oneself in relationship to power and place,” and found that their self-right to establish pono, or community harmony, was now under the control of the few haole (Rosa, 101). Not only was this insulting and detrimental to native political identity, but caused natives to question their personal identity as well. Even their phrase ‘local,’ used to differentiate themselves from the haole, was problematic. Locals were technically classified as “Asian Americans, Portuguese, Puerto Ricans, and Native Hawaiians,” meaning use of the word was actually racist, since it “gloss[ed] over and minimiz[ed] the historical differences” between these ethnic groups (Rosa, 101). Thus, this leaves Hawaiians in a rut; the Massie-Kahahawai case opened their eyes to their distrust in the government, loss of self-righteousness, and ambiguous identities, all through being an American territory exposed to a racial hierarchy. Now, we can see another facet of racism not mentioned by Gilmore, as it breaks down people of color by making them self-aware of their lack of power, trust in government, and personal and political