Edward W. Greevy III is an American photographer. He is best known for his coverage of
protests movements in Hawaiʻi.
Biography
Greevy was born in 1939 in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
.
He first visited Hawaii in 1960, while attending
Long Beach State University
California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is a public research university in Long Beach, California. The 322-acre campus is the second largest of the 23-school California State University system (CSU) and one of the largest universities i ...
. He moved to Hawaiʻi in 1962, but soon moved back to the mainland where he worked in insurance in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
.
He had aspirations of being a
surf photographer, so in 1966 he founded a magazine called ''Competition Surf'' with his brother in law. The magazine folded in 1967.
After returning to Hawaii in 1967, Greevy began working in commercial photography before moving to documenting protests and land struggles he is now known for.
Greevy started with
Save Our Surf Save Our Surf (SOS) was a community environmental organization that protested off-shore development, the destruction of local surfing spots and the suburbanization of Oʻahu's coastlines.
The founder and principal spokesman for the group was John M ...
, when he documented the
Kalama Valley protests
The Kalama Valley Protests occurred in 1971. The protesters were acting against the eviction of low-income farmers to redevelop the land as a resort area. The Kalama Valley Protests are known for sparking the Hawaiian Renaissance.
Protest
In th ...
, the
Waiāhole-Waikāne struggle
The Waiāhole-Waikāne Struggle was an influential anti-eviction movement in the U.S. state of Hawaii during the 1970s.
Background
After the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1893, Lincoln Loy McCandless acquired two hundred acres of land, in ...
, and the
Kahoʻolawe
Kahoolawe (Hawaiian: ), anglicized as Kahoolawe (), is the smallest of the eight main volcano, volcanic islands in the Hawaiian Islands. Kahoolawe is located about southwest of Maui and also southeast of Lanai, Lānaʻi, and it is long by wide ...
protests.
Greevy and Save Our Surf founder, John Kelly, met on March 31, 1971, where Greevy photographed a demonstration at the
Hawaiʻi State Capitol by Save Our Surf and Kōkua Hawaiʻi, who were there to raise concerns over the widening of Kūhiō Beach and the Kalama Valley evictions.
He credits Kelly with bringing him to many later protests and demonstrations.
Style
Greevy's photographs were known for depicting the struggles of those who were defending their homes and land while maintaining their dignity in the face of these situations. Activist Trisha Kehaulani Watson said that Greevy's work changed the perception of Native Hawaiians.
Throughout his career he has taken an estimated 60,000 photographs.
Further reading
*
*
References
External links
Photo collection on Ulukau: the Hawaiian Electronic LibraryOral history interview
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greevy, Ed
1939 births
People from Los Angeles
20th-century American photographers
California State University, Long Beach alumni
Living people