Feb. 2010- Pacific Raven Press is proud to present African Americans In Hawai`i: A Search For Identity compiled and edited by Ayin M. Adams, PhD., with introduction by Kathryn Waddell Takara, PhD. and Foreword by Aaron L. Day and Indira Hale-Tucker. This book has been described as a must have for all African American households and libraries across the states.
Ayin Adams is an award-winning poet, who has stepped outside her boundaries to put her heart and soul into this historic account of African Americans living in Hawai`i.
The contents of this book are straight and unforgettable. Through reading these selected essays and interviews that validate Hawaii’s African Americans’ contributions and the historical issues, the reader will also discover issues of identity and pain, resulting from the derogatory images of blacks in western art, literature, and the media that have permeated the local psyche and eroded a positive self image and respect for blacks.
The reader of this book will be left with fresh new images of and respect for blacks in Hawai`i, after learning of their 19th century migrations, leadership roles, successes and contributions to the whaling industry, medicine, business, education, science, civil service, the arts, social work, the military, and politics. The reader will learn that some blacks, before Oprah and other celebrities who have bought homes in the islands, have lived large and often very successful lives and often gone unrecognized in the lush and verdant beauty of the Hawaiian Islands.
Adams extols the role and value of the keepers of history and culture and understands how they can bring dignity and respect to a group and to individuals. She includes the voices of local black writers, organizers, activists, and the black national anthem, Lift Every Voice and Sing, to show the power of collective effort, the inspiration in music, and the magic of working together for a common aim. She does not accept the mantle of mind control and social and economic violence against blacks. Instead she sees a psychology of spiritual redemption in the study of black history in Hawai`i as the genius, talent, and history of African Americans in Hawai`i is recognized and celebrated like the many other ethnic groups in the Islands; the bonds of fear, mistrust, and color prejudice have no place in these gentle islands and can be released in sharing and learning, history, culture and communication.
Finally Adams shares the speeches of President Barack Obama in an effort to situate and dignify blacks in Hawai`i and their significant and often overlooked and forgotten roles in the values basic to democracy on the national stage. Obama’s speeches contain themes of “we not me,” freedom, equality and justice under the law, values of citizenship, service, community, family, the sacred environment, spirituality, compassion, health care reform, the end of poverty and homelessness, the development of a progressive, practical and empowering educational system.
Pacific Raven Press is a small press featuring new, emerging writers, and established writers of literary fiction and poetry. Pacific Raven Press publishes books by African and African American and People of Color in Hawai`i. Our books are available at Borders, Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com, and in our online store.
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ISBN 978-0-9841228-
8.5x10
220pgs. 175 photos
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