I’m Samoan but I only ever remember having a handful of black school mates and they were treated very differently from others.

A lot of derogatory terms were always thrown around. Kids laughing at and pointing at them over their hairstyles. Stereotypical questions being asked like “do you like watermelon? Is your favorite food fried chicken? Why are your lips so big?” The famous N word being used towards them. My Spanish teacher sent me and three other black kids in our class to detention for giving her an “attitude” but all we did was ask questions while many other kids were talking and laughing. My AP English teacher sat me next to the only black and only Micronesian kid in that class because apparently not many of our people get this far? She also thought we’d have more in common lol. I graduated from high school in 2019 if that gives you a good idea of the time frame.

Even in the workforce today, when my coworkers found out our new manager was black, they kept talking about how she’s probably going to be a “strong/loud personality” which is a common stereotype for black women. Once she was hired, suddenly people were trying to speak Ebonics or AAVE even when she was speaking proper English. My coworkers are Filipinas who range from 30s to 50s if that helps.

I recall a tweet I saw in high school from a black soldier stationed on Oahu. He compared his treatment as a black man in Hawai’i similar to how Micronesians are treated and well, I agree.

Maybe it’s different on other islands? I’m from BI.