Wear red and join us on Oʻahu on Jan. 16 for a day of celebration, reflection, and unity
Posted: January 3, 2023
Save the date! On Monday, Jan. 16, 2023, the Hawaiʻi State Teachers Association will walk in the Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Parade on Oʻahu to celebrate Dr. King’s life, legacy, and leadership in our country’s civil and labor rights movements. If you’re on Oʻahu, wear your red HSTA shirt and join us!
HSTA President Osa Tui, Jr. said, “In August of 1959, Hawaiʻi became a state, and two months later, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stopped by Hawaiʻi for a visit. After that visit, he remarked, ‘As I looked at all of these various faces and various colors mingled together like the waters of the sea, I could only see one face: the face of the future.’ In March of 1965, Dr. King and other marchers from Selma to Montgomery could be seen wearing lei given to them by a Hawaiʻi contingent, who also held a banner that stated, ‘Hawaiʻi knows integration works.’ I would love for those of you on Oʻahu to join us at Magic Island on Monday, Jan. 16, at 8:30 a.m. as we march from Magic Island to Kapiʻolani Park, and come together as various faces and various colors mingled together like the waters of the sea. Bring your family and friends and wear red, and I hope to see you there. Mahalo.”
Timeline
- 8:30 a.m. Gather at Magic Island in Ala Moana Regional Park.
- 8:45 a.m. Pose for HSTA’s group photo before the parade begins!
- 9 a.m. Parade departs Magic Island, travels down Ala Moana Boulevard and Kalākaua Avenue through Waikīkī, and ends at Kapiʻolani Park.
Parking and check-in
Plan to get there early if possible! Parking will be extremely limited at Ala Moana Regional Park. The park, especially at and near Magic Island, will be used as a staging area for various groups, floats, and vehicles. If you plan to drive, please carpool if possible and park at nearby public lots, such as Kewalo Basin or Kakaʻako Waterfront, or at Ala Moana Center (note that the center now charges non-customers for parking). You can also get dropped off or take a ride-share service (Uber, Lyft), taxi, bus, etc.
When you arrive at Magic Island, look for tall HSTA banners and colleagues wearing red HSTA T-shirts, and be sure to check in with us so we know you are part of our walking group. We will have a trolley with us during the parade for members and family with mobility issues or young children who are unable to walk for a long period of time.
We will be taking a group photo at 8:45 a.m. If you would like to participate, please be sure to stay near the trolley at this time. This parade is a public event. Be sure you, and everyone who accompanies you, are willing to be photographed.
What to wear and bring
Members, wear your red HSTA T-shirt. If you do not have one, a red shirt will suffice so long as it is appropriate. Remember, you are representing HSTA. If you cannot wear it to school, please do not wear it to the parade! Family and friends are welcome to attend and encouraged to wear red.
Be sure to bring water, sunscreen, hats, sunglasses, umbrellas, etc. to account for high temperatures and minimal shade. We will also have bottled water and snacks available before, during, and after the parade, while supplies last.
Route and post-parade notes
The parade kicks off at 9 a.m. from Magic Island, proceeds east down Ala Moana Boulevard, turns right onto Kalākaua Avenue in Waikīkī, and ends on Kalākaua Avenue at Kapahulu Avenue near Kapiʻolani Park. Once our walk is complete, please make your way to the Kapiʻolani Park Bandstand for a post-parade photo.
HSTA cannot guarantee transportation back to Ala Moana after the parade. We recommend taking a ride-share service or taxi, or getting picked up when you are ready to leave the area.
King’s life, legacy, and leadership
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 for his leadership in the civil rights movement. As a union, we also want to acknowledge his work in labor rights.
In 1961, King spoke before the AFL-CIO, the nation’s largest and most powerful labor organization, to explain why he felt unions were essential to civil rights progress. “Negroes are almost entirely a working people,” he said. “Our needs are identical with labor’s needs — decent wages, fair working conditions, livable housing, old age security, health and welfare measures, conditions in which families can grow, have education for their children and respect in the community.”
In 1967, King was inducted as an honorary member of ILWU Local 10 in San Francisco. He told the dockworkers there: “I don’t feel like a stranger here in the midst of the ILWU. We have been strengthened and energized by the support you have given to our struggles. … We’ve learned from labor the meaning of power.”
In 1968, King traveled to Memphis, Tennessee, to support Black sanitation workers who were striking for the right to unionize. He was shot and killed on April 4 while standing on the balcony of his hotel. Though his life was cut short — King was 39 years old — his life, legacy, and leadership continue to resonate and inspire to this day.
Did you know: Martin Luther King Jr. Day is the only federal holiday that is also designated by Congress as a national day of service. While it is observed on the third Monday of January in accordance with the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, King’s actual birthday is Jan. 15, 1929, which was a Tuesday.
Download the flyer below and share it with your family, friends, and colleagues with the URL: www.hsta.org/mlkparade
