The Hilo Massacre was an incident that occurred on 1 August 1938, in Hilo, Hawaii, when over 70 police officers attempted to disband 200 unarmed protesters during a strike, injuring 50 of the demonstrators. In their attempts to disband the crowd, officers tear gassed, hosed and finally fired their riot guns, leading to 50 injuries, but no deaths.
These protesters were multi-ethnic, including Chinese, Japanese, Native Hawaiian, Luso and Filipino Americans. In addition, the strikers were not from one single union; members of many different unions, including the International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union (ILWU) participated. The different groups, long at odds, put aside their differences to challenge the Inter-Island Steamship Company. The unions, led by longshoreman Harry Kamoku, demanded equal wages with workers on the West Coast of the United States and closed shop or union shop.
Strikes began on 4 February 1938, and culminated on 1 August when 200 workers gathered to protest the arrival of the SS Waialeale, a steamship owned by the Inter-Island Steamship Company. The protesters were ordered to disband, but refused to comply. Force was used, resulting in hospitalizations.
Read more about Hilo Massacre: Background, The Strikes, The Incident, Aftermath, Legacy, References
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“The bourgeoisie of the whole world, which looks complacently upon the wholesale massacre after the battle, is convulsed by horror at the desecration of brick and mortar.”
—Karl Marx (1818–1883)