*The African American Diversity Cultural Center Hawai'i (AADCCH) was founded on this date in 1997.
AADCCH is a museum repository of over 200 years of history of African descent in Hawaii. The earliest settlers arrived in the Hawaiian Islands around 1769. Their purpose is to share the collections by displaying and exhibiting artifacts, photographs, and oral history to tell the story of African Americans' past and present history in all its permutations: family life, civic contributions, inventions, medicine, architecture, politics, religion, law, and arts that will educate the people in Hawaii about the cultural heritage of Black people in this country.
During the late 1700s and early 1800s, Hawaii was sparsely populated. Many people of African ancestry came to Hawaii aboard merchant and whaling ships. Maritime labor during the 17th and 18th centuries was predominantly black in Hawaii. Although conditions were harsh and the pay low, it was better than being a slave. These men came from the Cape Verde Islands off the coast of West Africa, the Caribbean, and the mainland United States.
Throughout the age of sail, Black hands maneuvered white sails traversing ocean waterways. The Atlantic Ocean ships brought Blacks to the slave blocks; the Pacific Ocean brought them to freedom. Many Black men used the oceans as their underground railroad. Blacks in Hawai'i could go ashore without harassment; dozens jumped ship and made Hawai'i their home. The indigenous Hawaiian people welcomed them.
