Three months since the pandemic began, sometimes we can forget the amount of uncertainty and fear in those early days of COVID. As part of our continuing project with the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa's Center for Oral History, we are focusing on the experience of health care workers.
COVID-19 is still very much a part of daily life for many people across the islands. This month marks three years from the start of stay-at-home orders and other restrictions. The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa was one group that scrambled to adjust in the early days of the pandemic.
It was three years ago this week that the Department of Health announced the first case of COVID-19 in Hawaiʻi. Before the month was out, a stay-at-home order and travel restrictions were put in place. We're taking a look back at Hawaiʻi's pandemic response with the Center for Oral History.
When forces of Kamehameha I conquered Oʻahu in 1796, at least one Black person was already living on the island, according to the National Park Service. But the history of African Americans in Hawaiʻi is less well-known than some other strands of local history.
February is Black History Month, but the story of African Americans in Hawaiʻi is one that is often not heard. As part of our continuing project with the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa's Center for Oral History, we're taking a listen to two people who had very different experiences in mid-20th century Hawaiʻi.