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Local Story: The Massie-Kahahawai Case and the Culture of History by John P. Rosa
This book retells the Massie Kahahawai Case of 1931-32. It is a close examination of how Native Hawaiians, Asian immigrants and others during the territorial period responded to challenges posed by military and federal officials during two interrelated the alleged rape of Thalia Massie, a Navy wife and the killing of one of her alleged rapists, Joseph Kahahawai, a Native Hawaiian in January 1932.
Mass Market Paperback
First published May 31, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 30, 2016
Such a tragedy. I like how this book looks at how it affected local culture.
April 16, 2021
Rather dry, text book-like. I expect this is on the college book list. Still, it's quite informative.
The Massie-Kahahawai Case unwraps an alleged rape of a white woman--the wife of a U.S. Naval officer--a trial that acquitted the young men of color including Hawaiians, Japanese and one Chinese-Hawaiian, and the subsequent murder of one of the alleged rapists (Joseph Kahahawai) by white Navy soldiers and accomplices. To add insult to injury, after the jury found the soldiers guilty, the governor, acting under pressure from the mainland and the Navy, commuted the sentence to "one hour" served in his office!
The author provides details of the case, the trial, the penalty, the personalities, and the racial pressures on the islands as he describes how this case helped establish a particular Hawaiian identity that reflected the racial attitudes of the mainland USA.
The Massie-Kahahawai Case unwraps an alleged rape of a white woman--the wife of a U.S. Naval officer--a trial that acquitted the young men of color including Hawaiians, Japanese and one Chinese-Hawaiian, and the subsequent murder of one of the alleged rapists (Joseph Kahahawai) by white Navy soldiers and accomplices. To add insult to injury, after the jury found the soldiers guilty, the governor, acting under pressure from the mainland and the Navy, commuted the sentence to "one hour" served in his office!
The author provides details of the case, the trial, the penalty, the personalities, and the racial pressures on the islands as he describes how this case helped establish a particular Hawaiian identity that reflected the racial attitudes of the mainland USA.
March 5, 2022
important read to understand the unease and wariness that some Hawaii locals feel towards haoles (foreigners) or the US military. discusses the how "local" identity was created in Hawai'i.
trigger warning for detailed descriptions of sexual assault allegations and violent murder of an Indigenous man.
trigger warning for detailed descriptions of sexual assault allegations and violent murder of an Indigenous man.
November 22, 2025
3.75
Read like a textbook. It was interesting to see how this case kind of shaped “local identity” in Hawaii. Also interesting to hear about a somewhat similar case that happened in the 30s to the Central Park 5 case that occurred in the late 80s.
Read like a textbook. It was interesting to see how this case kind of shaped “local identity” in Hawaii. Also interesting to hear about a somewhat similar case that happened in the 30s to the Central Park 5 case that occurred in the late 80s.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews