Lahela Williams (00:01):
Be the change. You're never gonna get change if you don't change. It could be something small; what time you wake up in the morning. Nothing is going to change until you change.
Mary C. Daly (00:19):
2020 made me afraid, COVID, social injustice, so much grief. I was really afraid that we were gonna lose hope. And if we lose hope, we lose everything.
Mary C. Daly (00:35):
So I went out and asked, "Why do you still hope?" to people I trust, the people of Zip Code Economies.
Mary C. Daly (00:43):
And here is what I learned. And you are, like me, gonna be so encouraged, so appreciative, and so inspired. Please listen.
Mary C. Daly (00:58):
You're listening to Zip Code Economies 1.5, a special edition brought to you in a time of need by your Zip Code family.
Mary C. Daly (01:15):
I often talk about the intergenerational transmission of hope. I actually learned that in the first season of Zip Code from so many people we talked to. But it's a journey. It's not like you just pass it along like a baton in a race. And Lahela, who we're speaking to today, really exemplifies that journey.
Mary C. Daly (01:36):
That sometimes it's hard. That sometimes the path is completely uncertain. And sometimes, in order to go forward, you have to look backward and see how far you've come, and how many people helped you get there.
Mary C. Daly (01:48):
And that is the intergenerational transmission we all have to be a part of. So let's talk to Lahela and learn more about that.
Lahela Williams (01:57):
My name's Lahela Williams. I'm the executive director at Hawaii Community Assets and Hawaii Community Lending.
Mary C. Daly (02:06):
Tell me a little bit about how your community has been faring in the pandemic.
Lahela Williams (02:11):
Oh, boy ... O- our political leaders (laughs) prided themselves on being one of the leaders in the nation with the lowest positive test case per capita. And unfortunately, as time passed, you start to see the priorities of certain groups.
Lahela Williams (02:33):
And our economy, it appears to have taken precedence over the health and safety of our residents. Because as they move to reopen our economy, after we'd already had a quarter of a million unemployment claims in the first five months of the pandemic, we start to reopen our economy and open malls.
Lahela Williams (02:53):
And now, our numbers are breaking records daily. We are upwards of close to 2,000 positive cases currently. Which I know, relative to the rest of the country, doesn't sound like much. But, for a small island chain community, it's a pretty scary time.
Mary C. Daly (03:12):
Have you seen COVID-19 and the pandemic and all the actions we've taken to curb it; have you seen any of that have a disproportionate impact on communities who were in the least position to bear it?
Lahela Williams (03:27):
Oh, gosh, most definitely. We as Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders are disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. Outside of just the physical threat of this pandemic, and people being fearful; we've seen at least 92 small businesses close as a result of the economic impact.
Lahela Williams (03:53):
We have heard stories of some of our Kopa families that weren't eligible for unemployment, but they've lost income, just like everyone else. It has been emotionally exhausting. Trying to continue to move forward ... uh ... whoo ,,, Sorry. Our people, our people are dying. And I mean dying literally, and I mean dying figuratively. Um ...
Mary C. Daly (04:25):
It's hard to watch. It's hard to witness, right?
Lahela Williams (04:28):
It is.
Mary C. Daly (04:28):
It's hard to witness. And we can't look away.
Lahela Williams (04:31):
Right.
Mary C. Daly (04:31):
And those two have to be simultaneously held, and that's challenging. I mean, I feel the pain in your voice. I hear it.
Mary C. Daly (04:38):
We have two pandemics, really, in the United States. And, the second part of the pandemic being racism, social injustice that bubbles up in these episodic ways which are terrible to watch and witness. But are always there.
Mary C. Daly (04:55):
On the mainland, it's part of everything. It's part of all the conversations we have. It's part of what we're facing, day to day. And I wonder if it's reached Hawaii. And if your people, the people you serve, or yourself, are feeling that as well?
Lahela Williams (05:09):
Oh, yes. Most definitely. Just the brutality and the ignorance that we see on TV when we are watching the BLM movement. I personally have never had that ... although I'm brown, you know, growing up in Hawaii, our relationship, it's not as tense, I think, when it comes to law enforcement.
Mary C. Daly (05:33):
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Lahela Williams (05:34):
So it's different to watch. We had our rallies during the pandemic, which of course was scary, also. Because you want to make sure that you're protecting yourself and the people around you. But how can you sit by and not want to participate and call for the reform of our industrial prison complex?
Lahela Williams (05:53):
In all honesty, I equate; and others may not see it this way; but the collective movement and the impact around the BLM movement; it's significant on the continent. Uh, that's my Mauna Kea.
Lahela Williams (06:09):
For local people, we have issues that were just as passionate about and ... I mean, I know the pain that they feel. I know the injustice. And really, what it's like, coming up against a wall. We do it every day in government, in civic engagement and advocacy.
Lahela Williams (06:26):
But when you face a resistance that's just so ugly; on top of living in a world that you don't know it's safe for you to walk around outside without a face covering. I can't imagine how we're all coping with this.
Mary C. Daly (06:44):
That's a good question. How are we all coping?
Mary C. Daly (06:46):
You used a phrase that's not familiar to me, but it sounded like it was a moment. Can you say the phrase again? And tell us how it translates into English?
Lahela Williams (06:55):
So Mauna Kea is a mountain. I- it's situational. It has been a long-standing battle between Native Hawaiians, um, the State of Hawaii, and the University of Hawaii.
Mary C. Daly (07:07):
Oh ...
Lahela Williams (07:08):
And they continue to build these monstrous telescopes on top of one of our most sacred, culturally, spiritually significant places. When I think of the Black Lives Matter movement, I see that heart and I see that pain. And I know that there's a wrong that needs to be righted.
Lahela Williams (07:28):
I think people feel like, "I'm not black. I'm not African American. I'm, I'm not of that heritage. I don't have to be black to know that it's wrong. I don't even have to be brown to know that it's wrong. I have to be human to know that what I'm witnessing on TV, and in the news, is not right."
Lahela Williams (07:48):
And so, to best be able to relate to the situation, and figure out how I can be the best ally possible, I made a parallel to a movement that's significant in the Native Hawaii community. And that's fighting against, literally, our government. Fighting against the State of Hawaii and the University of Hawaii from continuing to desecrate one of our most sacred places.
Lahela Williams (08:13):
For me, it's the same. So when I refer to Mauna Kea, it's been a battle entering (laughs) well into almost a decade. The movement started July of 2019, when they were going to begin construction. And we mobilized Fearless Native Hawaiian Kia'i. Kia'i is a warrior, or a protector, right?
Lahela Williams (08:34):
So these kia'i chained themselves to a cattle grate. And they couldn't go up the mountain. And we occupied the main road accessing the summit of that mountain.
Lahela Williams (08:43):
We occupied it for almost a year, had it not been for the pandemic. That was the reason our kupuna, our elders, and our kia'i, our guardians, came off the mountain. Before that, they occupied that space. They would not leave. And we held that space. So I can definitely relate to just how crazy this world is right now.
Mary C. Daly (09:06):
Yeah, there's a sign across from where I get physical therapy; I broke my wrist. But there's a huge sign in the front window of a preschool. And it's a s- preschool for kids of color. It says only one word: "Enough."
Mary C. Daly (09:22):
And [crosstalk 00:09:24] what you just said reminds me of that sign. It's like there's a moment. There's something which we all; allies, or people who are experiencing the direct issue that's on us. The Black Lives Matter. That all of us can find a place where we say, "Enough. Enough is enough. We must stand up. We must fight."
Lahela Williams (09:41):
Yeah.
Mary C. Daly (09:41):
And it sounds like that's what you're saying. That you go to your world, your life, and you say, "I know what 'enough' feels like. And I can relate to it."
Lahela Williams (09:48):
Oh, yes. Yes, definitely.
Mary C. Daly (09:52):
As a Native Hawaiian leader and you're fighting for the rights of your people, what do you say to people who ... they wonder if it's ever going to change? Really, they wonder; we've been fighting for decades. We've been fighting for centuries. Will this ever change? Why will it be different next year than it's been for a hundred years?
Lahela Williams (10:11):
Be the change.
Mary C. Daly (10:12):
Be the change.
Lahela Williams (10:16):
You're never gonna get change if you don't change. It could be something small; what time you wake up in the morning. Nothing is going to change until you change. If you don't like it, do something about it. Say something about it. Write something about it. Enough. We have to stand up.
Mary C. Daly (10:39):
That school's not even open; the preschool.
Lahela Williams (10:42):
Mm.
Mary C. Daly (10:42):
But somebody went in to that school and made a giant sign, maybe for the students who would go there if they could, thinking of COVID. And wrote that word.
Lahela Williams (10:49):
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Mary C. Daly (10:50):
And I look at it every single time I go to that place. And every time, I feel choked up. Because I think, "Oh my gosh, what if each one of us; what if every single person said, 'Enough,' and did something to make it stop?"
Lahela Williams (11:04):
God, this world would be crazy, probably, for a little bit.
Mary C. Daly (11:08):
(laughs)
Lahela Williams (11:08):
But, I'm sure it would be amazing.
Mary C. Daly (11:10):
(laughs) So, when you think about this, though, in Be the Change; and you've obviously doubled down on that. I think people want to know: Do you ever get angry, sad, worry it won't be enough? Discouraged? You ever feel those emotions?
Lahela Williams (11:28):
Yes. Short answer, yes. So, in the last eight months, I personally have experienced everything in the emotional cycle. When, when you go to the doctor's office and they show you that chart. And that's just the pain chart, right?
Mary C. Daly (11:45):
Right.
Lahela Williams (11:45):
And they tell you where on this chart, one to 10, are you? And you have to pick a number. But what if the face is just so numb that it's not even there? And that is what the last eight months has felt like.
Lahela Williams (11:59):
And there were pockets of anxiety and pockets of depression and pockets of [inaudible 00:12:06] and pockets of worry. And pockets of just contentment in knowing that I'm home and I'm safe with my husband and my children. Because we won't leave the house. (laughs)
Mary C. Daly (12:20):
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Lahela Williams (12:20):
I have felt every emotion, I think humanly possible, to include the lack of emotion in the last eight months. And that's okay.
Mary C. Daly (12:30):
Yeah. It's okay.
Lahela Williams (12:40):
I lost my grandmother last year. Around her passing, it was really difficult for me. But I just kept beating myself up for not moving through the grief process fast enough.
Mary C. Daly (12:53):
Oh ...
Lahela Williams (12:54):
And, and, and sitting ... I call it my hole, right? I sat in a hole for too long. And I feel like what's happening around the world with this pandemic feels like the cycle of grief. And people are literally grieving, because they have lost family members: brothers, sisters, parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents. They are literally grieving.
Lahela Williams (13:17):
But I feel like everyone is suffering from some form of grief throughout this pandemic. And ... it took me way, way, way too long to allow myself to not ... be that hard on myself.
Mary C. Daly (13:38):
Hm.
Lahela Williams (13:39):
I beat myself up for the last seven-and-a-half months. Do more. Talk to more clients. Make more partnerships. Find more money. Bring more resources to my community. Wake up. Get dressed. Cook breakfast. Hug your child without crying. All of those things we're all experiencing.
Lahela Williams (14:08):
We, I mean, I ... I'm sure I'm not the only one. But at some place in the pandemic, you know, it's hard to get out of bed.
Mary C. Daly (14:15):
No, you're not the only one.
Lahela Williams (14:17):
My children are 11 and nine years old, and when you see ... symptoms of depression and anxiety in your children that young, that never existed before. But now they exist because we live in a world of uncertainty. They're locked in their house. I just learned in this pandemic to listen a lot more to my kids. To be more patient. And to not be so hard on myself.
Lahela Williams (14:49):
I woke up today. That's huge. I got out of bed. That's huge. I opened my computer and I got some emails off before this call. That took a lot of courage. It took a lot of strength. And I think that at some point, you have to tell yourself that whatever effort that you can give today, is enough.
Mary C. Daly (15:10):
I think that's exactly right. I totally ... Teams here at the bank. If today's not your day, just tell us. And we'll take care of it, right? Because we're gonna all have days when it's just not our day. And if we don't have empathy for ourselves, then we're not gonna be able to get through this. I think that's what I've heard in what you said.
Mary C. Daly (15:30):
That empathy for one's self, allow yourself to grieve, and ... I think we're going to need to add another ... I completely resonated with the thing you said about being numb. I definitely want to add that to the wheel of emotions.
Mary C. Daly (15:45):
Because I've had trouble myself identifying what I'm feeling. It was only when I deeply listened to myself, and I understood I was feeling the whole range of emotions, including the absence of emotion. Because I was overstimulated with all the different things I could feel in a given hour.
Mary C. Daly (16:02):
So how do you keep going?
Lahela Williams (16:05):
About a week ago, I'm laying on the couch, and my daughter comes in. She cuddles on the couch with me. And it is probably 11 or, or 12 at night. It was really late. She should have been in bed.
Mary C. Daly (16:17):
(laughs)
Lahela Williams (16:18):
She comes to cuddle me on the couch, and she's in a little bit of a funk. She's a little more emotional than normal. And she asked me a question. And her question was, "Mom, what's the point of living?"
Lahela Williams (16:33):
This is coming out of a nine-year-old. (laughs)
Mary C. Daly (16:37):
Oh ...
Lahela Williams (16:37):
As a parent, you expect these things because you get these crazy questions. As an adult, it's not something I expect to hear from a nine-year-old.
Mary C. Daly (16:43):
What did you say?
Lahela Williams (16:46):
... I told her a story about my grandma. And about the impact that she had on this world. And about my great-grandma, and the impact she had on this world.
Lahela Williams (16:56):
And I told her that the reason you live is to make a difference. To change your world. And then I told her, "Fix the world of a person, the world of a community, the world of a country, or the world in general. And your mission, every day, and your mission in life, is to change the world. Every day."
Lahela Williams (17:18):
And it was a very (laughs) philosophical ... I don't know what ancestral knowledge stream that came from. But that mom gene just whipped it out really quick.
Mary C. Daly (17:29):
(laughs)
Lahela Williams (17:29):
(laughs)
Mary C. Daly (17:31):
You are such a great mom.
Lahela Williams (17:33):
(laughs) No, not at all. I think what makes great parents is being willing to listen to your children. And talking to your children. But you're thinking about the stories that I shared with her, it was a very emotional conversation. And I told her that she's gonna change the world.
Lahela Williams (17:57):
Every day when she wakes up, she's gonna change the world. Every day when I wake up, I want to change the world. The world of a person, the world of a community. I think that's what keeps us going.
Lahela Williams (18:08):
I- I know for me personally, and even for my daughter, she has a kuleana. I have a kuleana. Kuleana is responsibility in Hawaii. I have kuleana here that's not done yet. And I don't know what it is; I just know that I have a purpose. I have a purpose and I have a responsibility to serve.
Lahela Williams (18:31):
You keep going, I think once people find their purpose, that moment, life becomes a little bit easier if you can create a path. But it doesn't mean it gets easier.
Mary C. Daly (18:47):
Oh ... Explain that. I think that's so insightful. You have a path, but it doesn't mean it gets easy.
Lahela Williams (18:52):
People think you've won the battle once you know where you're going. Finding your purpose in life; (laughs) I think some people, myself included, start to do that every single day.
Lahela Williams (19:02):
We give, trying to figure out ... Young people give, trying to figure out what their [inaudible 00:19:08] is. So much energy that when we finally figure it out, you feel like you just sigh in exhaustion. You've figured it out. Yes. You're here.
Lahela Williams (19:19):
Great! That's the beginning of the journey. (laughs) You know?
Mary C. Daly (19:23):
Oh, completely.
Lahela Williams (19:24):
That seems to be my mantra this pandemic. Is really self assessment. Because people are so hard on themselves, trying to figure it out so quickly [inaudible 00:19:34]. Nothing! Nothing is normal right now. Which means, you can't expect normal. You can't act like you normally would.
Lahela Williams (19:49):
We're living in a most peculiar time. Uh, there is no certainty. All I know is people are dying. People are sick. People are scared.
Lahela Williams (20:03):
And then on top of all of those things, we still have homelessness. We still have housing affordability. We still have racial injustice. We still have the prison industry complex. We still have police brutality. These things are all layered. You're never gonna figure it out. We need to stop wasting time trying to figure out what our purpose is, and just serve.
Lahela Williams (20:25):
Because if you start the work, you save yourself the energy of trying figure out what it is that you want to do.
Mary C. Daly (20:33):
Be the change.
Lahela Williams (20:36):
Call someone. Call a nonprofit. You know someone; call your church. Go somewhere and see how you can be of service.
Lahela Williams (20:45):
If we just do that, if we just start doing the work; start changing now. Start impacting people now, instead of research and assess and try and figure out if it's right for me. We don't have the time.
Mary C. Daly (20:59):
Yeah. We have to have intention and action.
Mary C. Daly (21:14):
Why do you still hope? You actually described amazingly how to still hope. How to continue to change. How to be the change. And how to do hope. Why do you still hope? Is, it isn't just talking to your daughter. What would you say to all young people listening?
Lahela Williams (21:36):
I still hope because I can. I hope because I was given the opportunity to hope. (laughs) Animals don't have a choice to wake up and change the world. They don't have that opportunity. Computers, as much as they may one day, right now-
Mary C. Daly (21:55):
(laughs)
Lahela Williams (21:56):
... they can't think. (laughs) And they can't change the world that they're in. There is one species on this planet that can do that. That's humans. And it's simple as that.
Lahela Williams (22:10):
I have the ability to hope, to dream, to change what the course of my day, my week, my year, my life will be. Do you imagine, in this pandemic, I've woken up some days that I've been the class clown. And some days, I have been just not the nicest person to be around. (laughs)
Mary C. Daly (22:29):
(laughs)
Lahela Williams (22:30):
Some days I've been super-emotional, and some days I've been extremely empowering. Every day, you have the ability to choose who you are, who you represent, how you want to be represented. And how you want to change the world.
Lahela Williams (22:48):
And that's why I hope. Is because every day that I wake up, I'm given a gift of a new day. And I have to do something with it. And my passion is in serving Hawaiians. My passion is in serving the residents of Hawaii. Those are just my passions. Everyone has their own passions.
Lahela Williams (23:09):
Every day I wake up and I choose to pursue my passions. And for young people, I, I think about my children. I think about my daughter who is nine, and my son, who's 11. And watching them over the last eight months.
Lahela Williams (23:24):
The world is so big. It feels so small right now. But the world is so big. What's happening right now, what's happening today, around young people, what's happening in your world, may have happened in the past. We know for a fact it did happen in the past. It looked a little bit different.
Lahela Williams (23:45):
Everybody loves and hates politics. And systems. Right? We talk about systemic injustice. The world is ugly, and history is repeating itself. And if you don't want it to repeat itself again, for you and your children and your grandchildren; then by gum, (laughs) you better get up and do something about it.
Mary C. Daly (24:05):
That's a good call to action.
Mary C. Daly (24:09):
I just want to ask you one more thing. I think about this a lot. What do you hope comes out of this time we live in? What do you hope-
Lahela Williams (24:19):
Mm-
Mary C. Daly (24:19):
... will be here, you know, five years from now? 10 years from now? When you look back, what do you hope we find?
Lahela Williams (24:27):
Five years from now, 10 years from now, I want to look back and I want to see a worldwide pandemic that could've broken a lot of us. I want to see that this worldwide pandemic actually brought us together.
Lahela Williams (24:50):
I know it has for me and my family. In the hustle and bustle of life; in this rat race we live in, right? Kids go to school, parents work. We get stuck in this routine. And I've sat in the same 648-square-foot apartment with my children, seven days a week. Mostly; I let them run away every now and again-
Mary C. Daly (25:14):
(laughs)
Lahela Williams (25:14):
... because the family would [crosstalk 00:25:15].
Mary C. Daly (25:14):
(laughs)
Lahela Williams (25:15):
(laughs) But seven days a week, for the last eight months.
Lahela Williams (25:21):
So two things, actually, to answer your question. One, I want to see that this thing that is forcing us to all separate; we'll look back and we'll be glad, because we'll realize the impact of how close we were able to reconnect to people that matter to us most.
Lahela Williams (25:39):
And the second thing is not only on that familial level, but the system was already broken before the pandemic happened. This pandemic, I pray, is the last straw that breaks this camel's back. Because I don't know how much longer people can continue to hope without true change.
Lahela Williams (26:07):
And any systemic problem that we had prior to the pandemic has now been exacerbated and broken. Now, while the iron is hot, we have an opportunity for reforming our relationships with political leaders. Reforming our relationships with police.
Lahela Williams (26:29):
Now is the time, while it's broken the most; when we're putting back together the pieces of our lives, I want to put my life back together with less housing affordability issues for my people. I want to be able to look back and see that we actually moved the needle on racial and social and economic injustice.
Lahela Williams (26:57):
Not only did we move the needle for future generations on behalf of past generations; but while doing that, we also got more intimate and close to one another. Just as human beings again.
Mary C. Daly (27:08):
Mm-hmm (affirmative). I have a note on my board. I wrote early in the pandemic. That [inaudible 00:27:16] remind myself. It says, "From great chaos comes great change." And I think that's-
Lahela Williams (27:21):
Mm.
Mary C. Daly (27:22):
... completely what we have to think about, right?
Lahela Williams (27:23):
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Mary C. Daly (27:24):
We've spun apart. Our world, it looks so different than it once did. But if we do as you say, if we put the pieces back together, in a different way than they were put together originally, we might actually leave our generation that follows, a better place than we inherited.
Mary C. Daly (27:40):
But the choice is ours; that's what I heard you say.
Lahela Williams (27:42):
The choice is ours.
Mary C. Daly (27:51):
Now in case about this time, you're wondering how to spell kuleana, it's K-U-L-E-A-N-A. And it's something we all have to write down. It means duty or responsibility. And ultimately, that's the essence of what Lahela was talking about.
Mary C. Daly (28:12):
That even in our darkest moments, when it gets hard, we have this responsibility to ourselves, to each other, to the next generation, and to the generation before us, to return to hope.
Mary C. Daly (28:25):
But she also said you don't always have to do it alone. Some days, you just rest. And others hope for you. And then the next day, you pick up and hope. And they rest. And together, interwoven and interlocked, we walk forward. Kuleana. Write it down.
Mary C. Daly (28:50):
Next time on Zip Code Economies 1.5, we talk to Mr. Sanchez. He's a teacher, which is why I call him Mr. Sanchez. From Firebaugh, California. Please join me.
Mary C. Daly (29:06):
You've been listening to Zip Code Economies. A production of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. Please visit our website, zipcodeeconomies dot org. And of course, while you're there, don't forget to subscribe. And leave us your thoughts wherever you listen to your podcasts. At Stitcher, Apple, or TuneIn.
Mary C. Daly (29:23):
Thank you so much for listening.

This transcript was exported on Mar 15, 2021 - view latest version here.



ZCE1-5-E3-Lahela-V1 (Completed  03/11/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 1 of 2