The program will feature distinguished panelists Professor MJ Palau-McDonald of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s William S. Richardson School of Law, Logan Narikawa, President of the Japanese American Citizens League, and Brian Niiya, public historian, Content Director for Densho, and editor of the Densho Encyclopedia. NJCHS Board Member Judge Richard Clifton of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will moderate. Bringing together perspectives from legal scholarship, community leadership, and historical advocacy, the panelists will explore the context of the case in Hawaii’s history. Panelists will discuss the impact of the case on parental rights, education, cultural identity, and the relationship between government authority and individual rights. Through thoughtful discussion and reflection, the program will examine the experiences of Japanese Americans in Hawaiʻi, while considering the broader relationship between law, democracy, and public memory.
This program builds upon themes explored in Western Legal History, Volume 35: The Parental Rights Trilogy: A Centennial Symposium, which examines the lasting legacy of Meyer v. Nebraska, Pierce v. Society of Sisters, and Farrington v. Tokushige. Together, these cases reveal how debates over education, language, parental rights, and cultural preservation shaped the American West during the 1920s and continue to resonate today. Read Volume 35 online here.
Presented by the Ninth Judicial Circuit Historical Society in partnership with the United States District Court for the District of Hawai’i. The program is co-sponsored by the Federal Bar Association, Hawaii Chapter, Dentons LLP, Cades Schutte LLP, Densho, and the Japanese American Citizens League, and the Hawai’i chapter of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association.
Thursday, June 18
Panel begins at 5:30pm HST
Reception to follow.
Prince Kuhio Federal Building and United States Courthouse
300 Ala Moana Blvd
Honolulu, HI 96850
Register Here!
Contact Georgia Johnson at georgia.johnson@njchs.org if you would like to register for tomorrow’s event.
Questions? Contact Georgia Johnson: Georgia.Johnson@NJCHS.org
Meet our Panelists!
Professor MJ Palau-MacDonald is an Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Hawai’i’s William S. Richardson School of Law, where she is also affiliated with the Ka Huli Ao Center for Excellence in Native Hawai’an Law. As a Native Hawai’an who grew up in the Bay Area, her scholarship focuses on empires, restorative environmental justice for Indigenous Peoples, and the intertwined legal histories of Hawai’i and the Pacific. Her published and forthcoming works can be found in the Boston University Law Reviews, Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review, and Western Legal History, among others.
With his family tracing their ancestral roots to the Japanese archipelago, Logan Narikawa is honored to be able to call Hawai’i his current Oceanic home. Logan holds a Masters in Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School and a Ph.D. from the American Studies department at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa. His research considers the relationships that have historically existed and might be obtained between settlers and Hawai’ans in Hawai’i. This sort of new father and husband is convinced that we must act with audacious courage in order to deliver a more hopeful, compassionate and healthy world to our children. Logan has taught the “Japanese in Hawaii” course at University of Hawaii and is the current President of the Japanese American Citizens League of Hawaii.
Brian Niiya is a public historian specializing in Japanese American history. Currently the content director for Densho and editor of the online Densho Encyclopedia, he has also held various positions with the UCLA Asian American Studies Center, the Japanese American National Museum, and the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai’i that have involved managing collections, curating exhibitions, and developing public programs, and producing videos, books, and websites. His writings have been published in a wide range of academic, popular, and web-based publications, and he is frequently asked to give presentations or interviews on the forced removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II.
CLE Information
1 hour of Hawaii CLE is available.