June 19

1868

history

Gannenmono: First Japanese Immigrants to Hawaiʻi

On June 19, 1868, about 150 Japanese laborers — the Gannenmono, or 'first-year people' of the Meiji era — arrived in Honolulu aboard the Scioto to work Hawaiʻi's sugar plantations, the first organized Japanese immigration to the islands. Many faced harsh conditions, foreshadowing the mass Japanese migration that would reshape Hawaiʻi.

1982

injustice

Vincent Chin Fatally Beaten

Two white autoworkers beat Chinese American Vincent Chin in a racially motivated attack; he died June 23, and his killers served no jail time.

Content note: racial violence.