Black History in 19th Century Hawaiʻi

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For over 200 years, Black individuals have helped shape Hawaiʻi’s history. From starting schools to advising Hawaiian royalty, their stories are a vital part of what makes the islands so special.

Long before missionaries arrived in 1821, Black settlers had already made their home in Hawaiʻi. One of the first known was Keakaʻeleʻele, also known as Black Jack, who lived on Oʻahu when King Kamehameha I united the island in 1796.

In the 1800s, many Black Americans came to Hawaiʻi through the whaling industry. They were seeking freedom and opportunity things not available in slavery-bound America. In Hawaiʻi, they found a different kind of society, one that offered more acceptance and equality.

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Want to learn more about Hawaiʻi’s multicultural history? Ask your teacher, librarian, or visit nps.gov for more stories like these.

From slavery to leadership in Hawaiʻi

Anthony D. Allen called Alani by Hawaiians was born into slavery in New York in 1774. At 24, he escaped and began a new life working at sea. He later bought his freedom and eventually made his way to Hawaiʻi, where his story truly took root.

In Hawaiʻi, Allen became a trusted advisor and steward to King Kamehameha the Great. For his service, he was given six acres of land in Waikīkī. He married a Hawaiian woman, and together they raised three children who lived into adulthood.

Alani was more than just a landowner he was a true community builder. He opened the first bowling alley in Hawaiʻi, built the first road up Mānoa Valley, started a school, and even ran the first hospital for American sailors in Honolulu. Many of his contributions weren’t recorded in history books, but they made life better for people across the island.

He passed away on December 31, 1835, leaving behind a large fortune for his children. Today, Anthony “Alani” Allen is honored by the National Park Service as part of the Underground Railroad Network to Freedom a recognition of his journey from slavery to freedom and leadership.

A teacher who believed everyone deserved an education

Betsey Stockton was born into slavery in Princeton, New Jersey in 1798. As a young girl, she was given to the president of Princeton College, Rev. Ashbel Green. While living in his home, she was taught to read and write and even attended classes at Princeton Theological Seminary something very rare for a formerly enslaved person at the time.

Eventually, Betsey was granted her freedom and joined a missionary group called the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. In 1823, she sailed all the way to Hawaiʻi and joined a mission in Lahaina, Maui.

Betsey quickly learned the Hawaiian language and saw that the local people called the makaʻāinana, or commoners didn’t have access to schools. So she started the very first school for common people on Maui, at the site that would later become Lahainaluna School, which still exists today.

In 1825, Betsey returned to the mainland U.S., where she spent the rest of her life teaching and helping others. She passed away in Princeton in 1865, but her legacy as a teacher and trailblazer lives on.

A lawyer who stood up for justice in Hawaiʻi and beyond

Thomas McCants Stewart was born in Charleston, South Carolina in 1853. He grew up to be many things: a teacher, a church leader, a lawyer, and a civil rights advocate who believed deeply in fairness and equal rights for all people.

In 1898, he moved to Hawaiʻi, just after the Hawaiian monarchy had been overthrown. Stewart helped write the Organic Act, which officially made Hawaiʻi a U.S. territory. But more importantly, he also helped Native Hawaiians fight to get back their kuleana lands the lands that had been passed down through generations.

After leaving Hawaiʻi in 1905, Stewart continued his legal work in England, Liberia, and finally the Virgin Islands, where he passed away in 1923.

His legacy didn’t stop with him. His daughter, Carlotta Stewart, graduated from Oʻahu College (now Punahou School) and became the first Black principal in Hawaiʻi. She made a lasting impact on Hawaiʻi’s schools and helped open doors for others.

A young scientist who changed medicine in Hawaiʻi

Alice Ball was a brilliant chemist and the first woman and first Black person to earn a degree from the University of Hawaiʻi. She was born in Seattle in 1892 and moved to Hawaiʻi to study chemistry. At just 23 years old, she became the first female chemistry professor at the university!

Alice made a huge breakthrough in medicine. At the time, people with leprosy (also known as Hansen’s disease) were sent to live in isolation, and there was no real cure. Alice developed a method called the “Ball Method” a way to make chaulmoogra oil, a traditional treatment, actually work inside the body. Her discovery gave hope and healing to countless people.

Sadly, Alice died young at just 24 years old, before she saw how much her work helped others. For many years, her achievements were not properly recognized. But today, she is honored across Hawaiʻi and beyond as a medical pioneer and role model.