Anthony D. Allen

I recently learned that the history of African-Americans in Hawaii is long and distinguished. African sailors visited the islands as early as circa 1776 and some made Hawaii their home as early as 1794.

One sailor was Anthony D. Allen originally from Schenectady, New York. He settled in Honolulu in 1810 before the first missionaries from New England arrived. Being one of a handful of African-Americans living on Oahu, Allen was one of the first land owners in Honolulu. He was given six acres of land by the local high priest to keep and pass on to his children. Land ownership then required approval by the king at the time - Kamehameha the Great. In fact it was because Allen was employed, and admired, by King Kamehameha himself.

Allen was very prosperous and respected. On his land he build 12 homes, one the first schools at the time, and a boarding house for sailors. He had two wives, as was common in those times, and three children. When he died in 1835 he left a small fortune to his kids. The land today would be worth close to 100 million dollars.

Learn more about Allen's interesting life here and here and here.

What I find interesting is that when Barry Obama lived with his grandparents, he used to play basketball on the courts at Washington Middle School across the street from their apartment building. The land on which he lived and played basketball was once owned and developed by Anthony D. Allen the former slave from New York.

Barry Obama lived in Hawaii for most of his childhood, but it appears that he never really explored what it meant to be a black man from Hawaii. I wonder whether Barry Obama studied the history of Africans in Hawaii while searching for his racial identity as a student and learned of the fascinating life of Anthony D. Allen.