AH QUON McELRATH

In 1954 the Democratic Party took control of the Territorial Legislature ousting Republicans in what has been called a revolution! This takeover of political power is often simplified as being the result of Governor Jack Burns’ party leadership and the returning Japanese American soldiers. AQ reminds us that history tells a more complete story.

Hawaiʻi’s history is filled with examples of struggles to overcome rampant inequality. In 1932, 4 Caucasians--Tommy Massie, Grace Fortescue, Albert Jones, Edward Lord--were convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 10 years each in the vigilante style murder of a young Hawaiian man, Joseph Kahahawai, age 20. The 10-year sentence was commuted by Governor Lawrence Judd to a one hour stay in his office, followed by all 4 defendants leaving Hawai‘i. In 1948, Hawaiians James Majors, age 20, and John Palakiko, age 19 were convicted of rape and first degree murder of an elderly Haole woman, Therese Wilder, and sentenced to hang. In this case, AQ and the ILWU helped mobilize community-wide support with petitions and demonstrations against their death penalty. This outpouring of support led to commutation of the death sentences in 1954, when Governor Samuel King reduced their sentences to life in prison. There was evidence that their confessions were coerced and that charges of rape were unfounded. These factors helped stoke the community support for the commutation. The Majors and Palakiko case became the cause that resulted in the Hawai‘i legislature’s abolition of the death penalty in 1955.

Years of education about racism, poverty and social justice by the ILWU was a major factor in community awareness of the issues. During AQ’s final illness in 2008, she was researching LGBTQ issues and saw these as the continuation of struggles for human rights. AQ’s friend, Claire Shimabukuro, tells us about bringing resource material to AQ’s hospital bed so she could continue to research and fight.

Tony Bise on AQ McElrath and her work to benefit working people

ILWU social worker Ah Quon McElrath was instrumental in helping to organize and preparing workers for a strike. Her friend Claire Shimabukro reccounts how AQ taught her the craft of labor organizing.

While Ah Quon McElrath is widely remembered as a union organizer and a champion for social justice, she also had a deep and abiding love of the arts. This love began in childhood. s a student at Kaʻiulani Elementary School during the Great Depression, she remembered with fondness her participation in plays and musicals. She also developed a love of classical music and opera at an early age. Her older sister had purchased a gramophone and recordings of various operatic arias that Ah Quon learned to cherish. In her high school years, her love of literature, and Shakespeare in particular, deepened. As an adult, Ah Quon remained a voracious reader and music lover, and sang in the Honolulu Choir.

Ah Quon was a lifelong supporter of the Honolulu Symphony and rarely missed a performance. She firmly believed that the arts should be available to all social classes, not just the wealthy. Ah Quon confided to a friend that she was able to sustain her tireless work ethic because of the refuge and renewal she found in the beauty of the arts.

As a social worker with the ILWU, AQ held workshops in the 1960’s and 1970’s that included women’s reproductive health issues and contraception. In an interview in 2008 she recounts how she utilized creative techniques to keep her audiences engaged.

Former Governor, John D. Waihee III, held office as a state Representative (1981-83) Lt. Governor (1982-86) and governor (1986-94). He first encountered Ah Quon when he was a young political activist and member of the 1978 Hawaii Constitutional Convention. He remembers AQ as a powerful advocate for the poor and working class, who saw the labor movement as a vehicle for social change!