{"id":175428,"date":"2023-04-06T11:43:41","date_gmt":"2023-04-06T21:43:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=175428"},"modified":"2023-04-06T11:43:41","modified_gmt":"2023-04-06T21:43:41","slug":"ethnic-studies-honored-by-legislature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2023\/04\/06\/ethnic-studies-honored-by-legislature\/","title":{"rendered":"Legislature honors UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa ethnic studies, founder Odo"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 3<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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From left, Franklin Odo family members Sarah (niece), Alan (brother) and David (son); State Sen<\/abbr>. Carol Fukunaga; Ethnic Studies faculty Davianna McGregor, Rod Labrador and Ty Tengan; and attorney William Kaneko, former student of Odo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Both chambers of the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> State Legislature paid homage to the groundbreaking efforts of the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at M\u0101noa\u2019s Department of Ethnic Studies<\/a> (ES<\/abbr>) and one of the program\u2019s early directors, Franklin Odo<\/strong>, and his colleagues, at the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> State Capitol on March 31.<\/p>\n

Related story: UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa ethnic studies celebrates 50 years<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

The House of Representatives issued a resolution<\/a> recognizing the department and its leadership—past and present—for their achievements in bringing the state to the forefront of academic and cultural conversations surrounding the issues of social justice and race relations. Acknowledged for their tremendous impact on the department were: Odo; current faculty Roderick N. Labrador<\/strong>, Davianna P\u014dmaikaʻi<\/span> McGregor<\/strong>, Ethan Caldwell<\/strong>, Monisha Das Gupta<\/strong>, Ulla Hasager<\/strong>, Richard C. Rath<\/strong> and Ty P. K\u0101wika Tengan<\/strong>; and emeritus faculty Ibrahim G. Aoude<\/strong>, Noel Kent<\/strong> and Jonathan Y. Okamura<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Located in the College of Social Sciences<\/a>, ES<\/abbr> emerged as a response to the tumultuous civil rights, anti-war, ethnic empowerment and students\u2019 rights sentiments of the 1960s. In the resolution, the House acknowledged ES<\/abbr>\u2019 storied past, as well as the leadership role it plays today in learning, research and community service connected to Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s multiethnic population.<\/p>\n

Recognizing ethnic studies pioneer<\/h2>\n

\"Franklin<\/p>\n

The Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> State Senate honored the life and legacy of Odo, who died at the end of 2022. Witnessed by members of Odo\u2019s family, along with his friends and colleagues, the Senate expressed its appreciation for his commitment to social justice throughout a career that spanned more than 50 years.<\/p>\n

A nationally recognized scholar and professor of Asian American and ethnic studies, Odo was instrumental in elevating the ES<\/abbr> program to department-level status at UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa. He also organized numerous exhibits, studies and projects featuring the histories and experiences of Asian and Pacific Islander immigration, acculturation and experiences in the U.S., and led a delegation of panelists to testify before the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (CWRIC<\/abbr>).<\/p>\n

Related story: In memoriam: Founding ethnic studies director Franklin Odo<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

The CWRIC<\/abbr> was established to review the facts and circumstances surrounding the forced relocation and internment, and the impact it had on American citizens and permanent resident aliens. Odo\u2019s efforts led to the consideration and documentation of the wartime experiences of Japanese Americans interned in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> as part of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988. The act provided $1.8 billion in appropriations and a presidential apology for the unlawful internment of Japanese Americans.<\/p>\n

The Senate noted that Odo\u2019s greatest legacy, however, will forever be embodied in his students. He was a teacher, mentor and friend to thousands of college students who were awakened and inspired by his experiential and activist teaching style. He not only challenged their way of thinking in evaluating events and how those events were relevant to current day events, but also instilled the need to create their own history in their own way in his students.<\/p>\n

A quote by Odo, taken from a 1990 interview conducted by Ethnic Studies\u2019 Center for Oral History<\/a>, perhaps best distills Odo\u2019s impact, his colleagues and the Department of Ethnic Studies on the world. It was read on the Senate floor by UH<\/abbr> alumna Sen<\/abbr>. Carol Fukunaga<\/strong>: “If you don\u2019t control your own culture and your own vision of life, and your own participation in life, then you don\u2019t control anything. And that\u2019s what we\u2019re about. The true spirit of any kind of democracy is to have people be autonomous at the same time that they know they are dependent on the community around them.”<\/p>\n