Bill > HCR26

This Concurrent Resolution urges the Board of Education and Department of Education to change the name of President William McKinley High School back to its original name, Honolulu High School, and to remove the statue of President William McKinley from the school grounds. The resolution argues that the school's current name and the statue were part of a strategy to politically indoctrinate the people of Hawaii into believing they were American, despite the historical context of the United States' illegitimate annexation of the Hawaiian Kingdom through the "Newlands Resolution" in 1898. The resolution highlights that this annexation led to the subjugation of Native Hawaiians and the suppression of their culture, and that the school system was used to "Americanize" generations of children. It also points to other instances where schools have renamed themselves or removed symbols with racially problematic origins, and references the U.S. Congress's "Apology Resolution" acknowledging the Native Hawaiian people's unresolved sovereignty claims, suggesting that removing the McKinley name and statue is a step towards addressing historical injustice and promoting racial equity.