ʻYou gotta be responsibleʼ: How Kokua Hawaii fostered kuleana for the land and people of Hawaiʻi

Abstract

Abstract Recent scholarship has focused on the vital role of social movement organizations as key pathways into activism. Yet attention to how learning unfolds within social movement organizations has not been adequately studied. Informed by critical learning sciences, we investigated Kokua Hawaii, a social movement organization that catalyzed a near half century of grassroots activism throughout Hawaiʻi and the Pacific. We argue that Kokua Hawaii offered a space for activists to: (1) conceptualize eviction as a symptom of colonialism and capitalism, (2) open themselves to Kānaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) epistemologies and lifeways, (3) participate in shared labor and collective care, and (4) author affirming and purposeful activist identities. Data includes 34 publicly available oral history interviews with members of Kokua Hawaii. We conclude by reflecting on our scholarly responsibilities to past, present, and future social movements.