The North Shore Ko‘olau Diversity Collective is a grassroots effort working to ensure that our rural O‘ahu communities are welcoming, inclusive, and supportive of māhū, aikāne, and LGBTQ+ individuals, and proactive in challenging bigotry, disrespect, and invisibility.
Sadly, there are still some people and institutions in communities across our region who actively promote the harmful notion that LGBTQ+ people are not deserving of dignity, respect, or equality, and even more who do little or nothing to challenge prejudice or abuse when they see it.
In such an environment, too many of our families, friends, and neighbors, particularly young people, are forced to live in silence, fear, and isolation, unable to see a place for themselves now or a future in which they’ll be able to survive and thrive on these legendary shores. It’s unacceptable.
So, with the fervent belief that proactive efforts to build safe and inclusive communities make a difference, we’re working to promote positive understandings of acceptance and belonging and to make sure that the North Shore and Ko‘olau region is known the world over as a place of love, not hate, a place that proudly holds space for us all.
North Shore Ko'olau Diversity Collective 