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Dustin Higgs, a black man who claimed he was wrongfully accused of kidnapping and murdering three women, was executed on death row on January 16, 2021. His story significantly affected Noelle Lo, a Junior attending Maui High School. Although she did not know this individual, she felt as if “the world was falling apart”, believing his story to be another tragic result of systemic racism. It further motivated her desire to make a profound change.
Last summer, Noelle first baked crinkle cookies and had bake sales to raise funds in which she donated to the Black Lives Matter Movement (BLM). Then, around February, Noelle began planning a student-produced benefit concert to raise funds in support of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Legal Defense Fund. With her dedication and perseverance, she publicly announced the fundraiser on March 10th on Instagram with the name “Mohala Maui.” Mohala means “to bloom,” and Noelle wanted to infuse the idea that society and community shall bloom into something beautiful, where change can happen and justice can flourish. Noelle Lo is passionate about continuing forward, participating in community service, and standing up for specific issues.
When planning, “everything [kind of] just started on a Google Doc. I wrote up ideas of what I wanted, and from there, I texted a bunch of friends asking for their help,” she explained. Noelle recruited fellow high school students from Mililani High School and Maui High School to help with her vision. They brought more ideas to the table, executing proposals better than the original. Her team slowly got more into the concert, and her team and other ideas grew.
With the Mohala Maui Benefit Concert, they contribute to awareness for important causes, such as the aforementioned Black Lives Matter Movement and the more recently developed Stop Asian Hate Movement. She hopes to educate the community on the importance of these movements, show support and spread awareness, but also to provide an opportunity to the keiki of Hawai’i. “Undiscovered talent is everywhere!” she expressed. She believes qualities like talent and creativity lie within them. With this opportunity, they can hone in on and perform their skills, enabling creative liberty and connections, all while supporting a fantastic cause.
Noelle, too, believes that producing this event has unlocked her potential. If she ever has to arrange events for nonprofits and charities in the future, she feels competent to take the challenge.
Mohala Maui currently has essential sponsors such as Maui OnStage and Yanagida Fitness who provide funding as well as the venue to film. Some expenses include refreshments for cast and crew, who some days work 6-7 hours in preparation, as well as personal protective equipment.
The target release date for the show is late May and the exact distribution platforms are still to be determined. Noelle Lo and her team, however, have already launched their website https://noellekeikolo.wixsite.com/mohalamaui and to see behind the scenes and updates, folks can follow their Instagram @mohalamaui. With more advocacy and reach to help NAACP, she hopes students will play a role in the success of this concert by “promoting it on social media and posting about it. Even with a small platform, you are still getting out the word!”