After moving from his native South Africa to Texas, then to Colorado, and finally to Hawaii, 29-year-old Lindani Myeni believed he was finally in a safe place to raise his children. But only three months after the move to Hawaii, he was shot dead by Honolulu police.
A prince by title, Myeni was searching for a place to pray on the day he was killed, wearing a traditional Zulu headband and removing his shoes at the door of what he believed was a temple.
But it wasn’t. And when the resident of the property saw him, she called 911.
“Is he white, is he Black, is he local?” dispatchers asked. And when police arrived at the scene, they shot an apologetic and confused Myeni at least three times. Only then did they even announce they were officers: “Fuck you! Police!”
But Black Hawaiians weren’t entirely surprised.
Only 3.6% of Honolulu is Black – but Black people are over 7% of “people police [use] force against.” However, this fact is often obfuscated by the myth that Hawaii is a “racial paradise.”
With good reason, Myeni spent his last moments seeking a safe community for his family. But no matter where we try to escape to, the global systems of policing and white supremacy will keep dehumanizing and criminalizing us.