Speaker on Hawaii’s Historic Role in World Affairs

Molokai Bahá’í Community News Release

The Hawaiian Kingdom played an important role in global affairs in the 19th century. Dr. Ron Williams, a historian specializing in Hawaiian history and Native language resources, will make a presentation on this theme at the Molokai Public Library on Wednesday, Dec. 17 at 5:30 p.m., as part of the Global Citizenship Speaker Series.

In the illustrated presentation, titled Hawaiʻinuiākea: The 19th-century Hawaiian Kingdom as Global Citizen, kumu Ron Williams will explain how the Native-led government of Hawaii, a remote group of islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, managed to become a core member of the family of nations that dominated 19th century international politics. He will also share what the Kanaka ‘Ōiwi leaders did with this status.

Dr. Williams is a former faculty member at the Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge at UH Mānoa and was the founding Director of the university’s Lāhui Hawaiʻi Research Center. He served as President of the 132-year-old Hawaiian Historical Society and has published in a wide variety of academic and public history venues including the Oxford Encyclopedia of Religion in America, the Hawaiian Journal of History, and Hana Hou! Magazine. Dr. Williams will present via Zoom.

Join us in looking through the primary-source records to learn more about the Hawaiian Kingdom as a prominent global citizen. 

The speaker series is presented by the Molokai Bahá’í Community in collaboration with Molokai Public Library to encourage conversations around global issues of importance to Molokai. Everyone is welcome. Light refreshments will be served.