Free Palestine Solidarity March for Peace 2024
On Sunday, January 28th, a diverse group of individuals came together in the Hawaiian Kingdom for the “Free Palestine Solidarity March for Peace 2024” to march from Magic Island (Ala Moana Park) to Kapiʻolani Bandstand in Waikīkī. United in the name of peace, solidarity, and collective liberation, we raised our voices together for those who have been lost to oppressive forces and to stand up against the genocide that’s happening in Palestine right now. Demonstrating our unwavering commitment to the cause, this march showcased the strength of all of Hawaii’s people and our unwavering dedication to uplifting and supporting one another even from thousands of miles afar.
Organized by Citizens of Peace, the peace march from drew an impressive turnout of approximately 4,000 people – one of the largest peace marches and protests in recent memory. Participants were greeted with a "Kū Kiaʻi Palestina" t-shirt, generously funded by grassroots organizations such as the Hawaiʻi People's Fund.
The event featured a lineup of distinguished poets, artists, dancers, and revolutionaries, including Kumu Jonathan Osorio, Heoli (Jamaica) Osorio, Inalihi, Kauwila Mahi, Hāwane Rios (MKEA Mauna Kea Education and Awareness), Kamakani Poetics, Students and Faculty for Justice in Palestine at the University of Hawaiʻi, Hawaiʻi for Palestine, Jewish Voice for Peace-Hawaiʻi, the World Can't Wait Hawaiʻi, and more.
There were educational booths from us at HAPA, HAA Honolulu (Hui Aloha ʻĀina o Honolulu, KOA Yoga Project, Hawaiʻi People’s Fund, Students and Faculty for Justice in Palestine at the University of Hawaiʻi, Hawaiʻi for Palestine, Jewish Voice for Peace-Hawaiʻi, the World Can't Wait Hawaiʻi, and more.
We want to express our heartfelt appreciation to the beautiful, supportive community that showed up for this event and continues to be a shining example of what unity and solidarity can achieve.
Images Courtesy of Cynthia Franklin.
About the Author
Nanea Lo, HAPA’s Administrative and Programs Coordinator
Nanea Lo is from Papakōlea, Oʻahu. She is a Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian). Lo's educational expertise is in community planning and urban planning infrastructures. She is also a podcast host for Native Stories.
Lo is a public servant and serves as the Kona representative for the Oʻahu Island Burial Council, a commissioner on the Oʻahu Historic Preservation Commission, sits on the board of the Hawaiʻi Workers Center, newly elected member of the Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi Executive Committee, and serves on the grant making committee for Hawaiʻi People’s Fund.
Through civic engagement, podcast hosting, and community organizing, Lo advocates for Hawaiian sovereignty, Aloha 'Āina, and feminism on the national and international scale. She has been a part of innovative local and international education and advocacy programs such as Planned Parenthood “National” Storyteller for the Pacific Northwest and Hawaiʻi, Hawaiʻi-Asia Pacific Leadership Program, Native American Political Leadership Program, Kuleana Academy, Young Pacific Leaders, and Peace Scholars. She believes that relationships are the fabric of life and that Aloha ʻĀina is forever.
