In this article, faculty and administrators describe their personal and institutional experiences with racial justice and equity.

In the United States, systemic racism against people of color was brought to the forefront of discourse throughout 2020, and highlighted the on-going inequities faced by intentionally marginalized groups in policing, health and education. No community of color is immune from these inequities, and the activism in 2020 and the consequences of the…

Three colleagues critically reflect on their experiences as educators, curriculum designers, leaders, and activists who set out to apply social justice education and transformative leadership scholarship to the creation of a Leaders of Social Justice in Education course. They begin with their background, the diverse change agents selected to build…

For centuries, Native Hawaiians, like other Indigenous and historically oppressed communities, have been studied by Western researchers whose claims, until recently, have been accepted without question and in many instances have led to Native Hawaiians' continued oppression. However, now that growing numbers of Native Hawaiians and individuals…

Lumina Foundation seeks to increase the proportion of Americans who hold a postsecondary credential to 60 percent by 2025, across all racial, ethnic, immigration, and income groups. Recognizing that this goal cannot be achieved through a focus on traditional-age college students alone, Lumina launched the Adult Promise initiative in 2017. Between…

While reflecting on her own educational experiences, author Beth Taone discusses how she came up with an educational philosophy called Tri-Excellence. Taone believes that students will only be able to succeed in school if three things are in place--Student Excellence + Teacher Excellence + Family/Community Excellence. Here she describes…

Educational perspectives from Hawaiian points of view in all areas of Native Hawaiian health are timely and critical to share today, as remarkable and unprecedented collaborations within the Hawaiian community are addressing not only the overall health and wellness of Hawaiians, but a range of additional culturally grounded issues, such as healing…

Social justice in educational settings can be advanced through culturally sustaining leadership development programs for indigenous students, faculty, and administrators. The state of Hawai'i has been a fertile ground for culture-based development experiences for emerging leaders from islands throughout the Pacific. These opportunities arise from…

Over the past forty years, considerable attention and funding has been spent to improve the health status of Kanaka ?Oiwi. While gains have been made, Kanaka 'Oiwi continue to experience an average life span ten years shorter than that of the general population (Wu et al. 2017). This is caused in part by non-communicable diseases such as diabetes,…

Progressive schools, by their very nature, need to respond to changing societal conditions. Within that context, learning guided by the teachings of John Dewey will not only make the progressive tradition sustainable but also make it increasingly relevant in a future that will increasingly make demands on students to possess the knowledge to…

On the edge of urban Honolulu, Kalihi is home to diverse cultural groups struggling to cope with poverty and colonization. This is the story of their journey to reclaim their rich cultural roots in a world that often sees them as troublesome statistics. Dawn Mahi reports that "Kalihi," the Hawaiian word for "the edge," is what…

One of the states served by the Southeast Comprehensive Center (SECC) requested the center's assistance in compiling information regarding educational support for Native American students. To obtain this information, SECC staff contacted 16 states that have state agency contacts for Indian Education and/or that indicate a population of more than…

This report focuses on the 15 states of the West (Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington and Wyoming), their ability to educate minorities, and the resulting impact on their workforces and economies. The foundation of the Western U.S. economy rests on…

With the annexation of the Hawaiian Islands as a Territory in 1898, the people of the United States assumed responsibility for leadership of the Hawaiian people toward social and economic goals, as well as for the establishment and maintenance of democratic government. In a democracy education is the chief means of promoting stability of…