Shimokawa to receive
Peacemaker awardThe retired sociologist's commitment
to justice in Hawaii has been
both professional and personal
June Shimokawa was asked last year to prepare some introductory information about Hawaiians for visitors from Japan. What she wrote was not about music, leis and hula, but a concise primer about Hawaiian self-determination issues.
Her paper "A Matter of Justice Concerning Hawaii" would not have surprised people in the sovereignty movement who find Shimokawa at meetings, rallies and demonstrations.
"To be present is important," said the sociologist, who is also to be seen at hearings about military construction in Hawaii and on the line when demonstrators protest the American invasion of Iraq or Makua. "We're all journeying together for peace and justice."
Shimokawa will be presented the Hawaii Peacemaker Award in a 7 p.m. Monday program at Church of the Crossroads. The celebration will include a presentation by Nalani Olds honoring Queen Liliuokalani.
CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
June Shimokawa cites Jesus Christ as her inspiration to speak out on social issues.
Shimokawa was chosen "because of her lifelong commitment to issues of peace and justice," said the Rev. Judy Rantala, of the church, which bestows the annual award in honor of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
Shimokawa retired in 2000 after seven years as American Friends Service Committee program director lobbying for economic justice issues and promoting community understanding of the Hawaiian self-determination movement. She was director of the YWCA of Oahu from 1986 to 1993. With sociology degrees from the University of Hawaii and Western Reserve University in Cleveland, she worked for the YWCA in Washington state and California, and the New York office of the United Methodist Church Global Ministries for 26 years before returning to Hawaii in 1985.
The commitment to social justice was part of her professional career, but always personal.
"After graduate school," she said, "I made two commitments: to keep one foot in the Japanese culture and to be involved in the community in which I was living."
She said the concept of being in the community was a natural progression from her childhood in a Big Island plantation village.
Her course in the Hawaiian community was set when she read "Queen's Story," about Liliuokalani just before returning to Hawaii.
"That was the first I knew that Hawaii history was not what I was taught at UH. It made me ask why wasn't I taught, but also why hadn't I looked."
As the 1993 centennial of the overthrow of the monarch approached, a one-week educational series about Hawaiian history at the YWCA "was a training ground for me," said Shimokawa. She organized a sovereignty panel presentation for Harris United Methodist Church, which introduced her to the fact that different factions of the Hawaiian movement would not sit at the same table.
Her activism comes from a reflective core, grounded in her faith.
"As a disciple of Jesus Christ, to be silent in these times is to be poor disciples. Justice is discipleship.
"The prevailing value was patriotism when I was growing up, to the school as an institution, to the church as an institution, everything conditioned you to be patriotic.
"I have come to a place now where I believe in the universality of our spirit as people.
"No one is challenging capitalism in America today. Why can't we challenge a system that amasses great wealth for some while millions are starving?"
She quotes the Old Testament prophet Micah, who advised that what God wants of humans is "to do what is right, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."
Shimokawa said, "That's the hard part, when I want to change the stupid things that governments and people will do."
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