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He was murdered in one of Hawaii s most racist cases. Now his descendants are reclaiming his legacy.
Kathlyn Clore
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Killed, not died: The grave belonging to Joseph “Joe” Kahahawai, Jr., in Puea Cemetery in Kalihi, Hawaii, has struck many for its plain wording around Kahahawai s death.Sean Marrs/Special to SFGATE
When Jordan Kahahawai-Welch was around 12 years old, she accompanied her tutu (grandmother), auntie and uncles to a Honolulu theater performance about the Massie affair, a sensational criminal case that began in 1931 with a false rape claim asserted by a 20-year-old white U.S. Navy spouse living in the posh suburb of Mānoa.