The Asian American Studies Department presents a talk by Hinaleimoana Kwai Kong Wong-Kalu, also known as Kumu Hina (hula teacher), an educator and native Hawaiian transgender activist. She is the subject of the documentary, “Kumu Hina: The True Meaning of Aloha” (2014, directed by Dean Hamer and Joe Wilson) which won the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Documentary among many other film awards. In 2015, PBS Hawai’i released a shorter educational version of film intended for younger audiences and classrooms titled, “A Place in the Middle”. Kumu Hina is a native Hawaiian mahu, a person who embodies a third gender, and has both the male and the female spirit.
Wong-Kalu will be featured at two events:
Public Lecture
Introduction by Professor Randall Akee
Time: 11:00 AM – 12:15 PM
Location: Haines Hall A18
Community Talk
“Moments and Epiphanies in the Life of a Māhū”
Time: 2:00 – 3:30 PM
Powell Library East Rotunda
Light Reception to Follow
Co-sponsored by:
- Office of Instructional Development
- American Indian Studies Center
- Center for the Study of Women
- Institutes for American Cultures
- Asian American Studies Center
