Joella Edwards moved from the mainland US to Hawaii when she was four years old, and was the only black student at Punahou School until President Obama joined in 1971 as a fifth grader. Due to persistent bullying because of her race, Edwards left Punahou School after ninth grade. During Obama’s presidency, Edwards was an outspoken critic of Trump’s birther conspiracy, explaining that in negating Obama’s origins, it also negated her and her classmates’ own histories with him in Hawaii.

"Being the only little Black girl and being teased all the time was very difficult for me. So, when I saw him, I thought, he is just like me, but he’s a guy." Joella Edwards