Hanapepe massacre facts for kids

The Hanapēpē Massacre was a sad and violent event that happened on September 9, 1924, in Hanapēpē, on the island of Kaua'i. It involved a fight between Filipino sugar workers who were on strike and local police officers.

The trouble started when two young Ilocano workers were held by other Filipino workers at their strike camp. These two young men were thought to be breaking the strike. When the local police were called to help, they arrived with many armed special deputies. These deputies were like extra police officers.

The officers wanted to arrest the two Ilocano boys. This made the other Filipino workers, even though they had been upset with the boys earlier, angry. They armed themselves and demanded that the boys be set free. A big fight then broke out. Sadly, sixteen Filipino workers and four police officers died in the conflict.

What Happened After the Hanapēpē Massacre?

After the terrible event, the police arrested many of the male protesters they could find. A total of 101 Filipino men were taken into custody. Out of these, 76 went to trial, and 60 of them were sent to jail for four years. However, some historians say that 130 strikers and their leaders were arrested and tried. They say 56 were found guilty and imprisoned, and many were later sent away from Hawai'i.

Pablo Manlapit, a leader of the workers, was accused of encouraging people to lie in court. He was sentenced to two to ten years in prison. A newspaper called the Hawaiʻi Hochi said that he was unfairly put in prison. They claimed he was a victim of made-up evidence, false stories, and unfair treatment because of his race and social class. Soon after, he was let out of prison, but only if he left Hawai'i. The workers' strike ended after eight months.

After the 1924 strike, the movement for workers' rights in Hawai'i became weaker, but it did not completely disappear. Workers rarely showed their unhappiness openly again for a while. Pablo Manlapit, who had been jailed and sent away, came back to the islands in 1932. He tried to start a new group for workers, hoping to include people from all different backgrounds. But it was a difficult time because of the Great Depression, a period when many people lost their jobs and money. There were some small strikes in 1933, mostly by Filipinos, but they did not achieve much. Since the massacre, people have been discouraged from bringing guns to protests.

Remembering the Past

The exact place where the sixteen workers who died are buried is not known today. Because of this, a special marker was placed in the Hanapepe Town Park in 2006 to remember them.

Finding the Graves

On October 20, 2019, a group from the Hawaii State Chapter of the Filipino American National Historical Society made an important discovery. With help from experts, they found a trench at the Hanapepe Filipino Cemetery. They believe this trench might be the grave of twelve of the workers who died. This discovery was reported in a local newspaper. The group plans to share their findings at a conference in July 2020. They also said they will keep looking through old court records to try and identify all 16 workers who died.