Social justice discussion looks to break down boundaries

What does it mean to “eliminate boundaries?” How can we come together to implement the change that we want to see? Why is it important that we build alliances? What can you do? Students, teachers, and community leaders are looking to tackle those questions.

The University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Ethnic Studies Department and Women’s Studies Program presents “Social Justice and Grassroots Organizing: Eliminating Boundaries” on Wednesday, April 27 at 2:00 p.m. in Krauss Hall 012 on the UH Manoa campus.

The discussion aims to teach about “real issues happening in Hawaii” and what community members are doing to speak up and fight back.

Topics include housing foreclosures, transgender issues, civil unions, and jobs.

Panelists include:

Amy Donahue, a Ph.D. candidate (ABD) in the UH Manoa Department of Philosophy and a local transgender activist. As a board member of Pride at Work Hawaii, a division of the state AFL-CIO, Donahue promotes LGBT concerns within the local labor movement, and workers’ concerns within the LGBT community. She is also currently the Advocacy Committee chairperson with the UH-Manoa Graduate Student Organization.

Rev. Sam Domingo, president of Faith Action for Community Equity (FACE) Oahu Chapter. Domingo was born and raised in Kalihi and is a graduate of UH Manoa (BA Sociology) and the School of Theology at Claremont, California, (Master of Divinity degree). Ordained in 1979 by the Cal-Pac Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church, Domingo has served congregations in California, Honolulu, Pearl City, Hawaii Island, and is presently Pastor of Keolumana UMC in Kailua.

Lauren Ballesteros, a graduate of the UH Manoa (BA Sociology) and a community organizer with UNITE HERE Local 5, a local labor organization that represents over 10,500 hotel, health care, and food service workers throughout Hawaii. She is also active in Hawaii’s local art and theatre community, having had roles in Hawaii’s annual Shakespeare Festival, Ghosts staged by TAG, and The Holiday of Rain by Kumu Kahua Theatre. As an artist, Ballesteros has used her passion for theatre as a way to advance her work in effecting social change in our community.

For more information, contact Elena Garner at [email protected].

“Social Justice and Grassroots Organizing: Eliminating Boundaries”
Wednesday, April 27 at 2:00 p.m.
Krauss Hall 012, UH Manoa campus