All Hawaiians Unite


Civic club ambassadors attending the Native Hawaiian Convention in Washington D.C Photo courtesy Kaipo Leopoldino

“Aohe hana nui ka alu’ia”- No task is too big when done together

Hawaii’s history is beautiful and unique. It is immersed in poetic folklore, enriched in deep tradition and highlights the life of admired monarchy. However, behind the curtain of enticing antiquity, Hawai’i is consumed in sorrowful misfortune that many of the Hawaiian people continue to hold on to.
The hardships overcome by the Hawaiian community are a clear indicator of how foundational principles have preserved its culture.
Laulima (togetherness) is one of the many ethics that has long been practiced and perpetuated. To this day, it proves to maintain its status as one of the most highly regarded values in Hawaiian tradition.
Since 1918, Hawaiians have established and maintained organizations consisting of a body of Hawaiian members who work together to achieve common goals. These organizations, known as Hawaiian Civic Clubs serve a large purpose for Native Hawaiians.
“Every Civic Clubs mission is to promote the well being of native Hawaiians,” said Kaipo Leopoldino, member of the Prince Kuhio Civic Club.
Each Hawaiian Civic Club achieves this through various avenues. Through scholarships, community service, public/private events, education and promotion.
The Hawaiian civic clubs are a classification of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs (AHCC) which is an organizational body divided in to five distinctively smaller groups expressed as councils. These groups consist of the mainland council, the Hawai‘i Island council, Maui council, O‘ahu council and Kaua‘i council.
Deriving from the district councils are the popular civic clubs that maintain a certain amount of autonomy from the association. Given their liberty, the Civic Clubs are seen as individual organizations within the larger corporation.
Aside from the Association laws upheld by clubs, each exclusive club follows rules that stem from their own constitution.
Amongst many of the clubs attributes, they are also designed to sustain the responsibility of representing community concerns. The public presents their concerns to the Civic club then is advanced to the AHCC.
Each year all of the Hawai’i and mainland civic clubs meets at a convention to further resolutions to a caucus within the senate on the state level. There they propose resolutions to bypass to law. These Conventions are designed for flushing out resolutions.
This past year the AHCC held it’s 53rd annual convention in Washington DC.
“Every Civic Club sends a certain amount of representatives to the convention as delegates where they are able to read resolutions,” said Leopoldino.
While at the convention, members are divided in to different committees to review resolutions, discuss them, debate the topics and vote on it as a whole. Upon voting, the president of the association asks who is opposed to the idea and who is for it, From there it’s either accepted or not and passed to the caucus.
“Some of the resolutions dealt with the renaming of the prince Kuhio Center to the Akaka Center and the concern about gambling on Hawaiian Homes Land,” said Leopoldino.
Hawaiian Civic Clubs are the perfect opportunity to get involved with native Hawaiian issues and provide good incentive to be a part of a community that works to benefit the needs of the Hawaiian people.
“I encourage all young native Hawaiians to join a Civic Club because we are the future of Civic Clubs,” said Leopoldino.