Founded by Dr. Akiemi Glenn in 2017, The Pōpolo Project produces educational and cultural learning opportunities, hosts community gatherings, and generates original media that create new narratives for and about Black people, rooted in experience, community knowledge, and kinship in Hawai`i. The organization aims to “redefine what it means to be Black in Hawai`i—and in turn what it means to be Black in the world—by creating spaces and opportunities for our people to radically reconnect to ourselves, our communities, our ancestors, and the land.” 

A core value of the Pōpolo Project is to use storytelling, art, and lived experiences to bring people together. Each year, the organization hosts dozens of events and programs, including poetry readings, film festivals, panel events, and a Juneteenth celebration. The organization also produces short films and talk stories that center the experiences of Black persons living in Hawai`i. 

The Vilcek Foundation is proud to support The Pōpolo Project with a grant of $10,000 to assist in the production and development of a feature-length documentary film, Kamakakēhau: The Heart’s Desire. Viewers join traditional Hawai`ian falsetto singer Kamakakēhau Fernandez on a journey of self-exploration. A Black man born in Little Rock, Arkansas, Fernandez was adopted into a Native Hawai`ian family on Maui. Directed by Alfonso Maiorana, the film delves into concepts of family, migration, race, and music across the globe: from the island of Maui, where Fernandez grew up; to the state of Arkansas, where he was born; to Ghana in West Africa, where his ancestors originated. 

The Pōpolo Project aims to wrap filming and post-production in 2026, with the goal of screening Kamakakēhau: The Heart’s Desire at festivals beginning in autumn that year.

The Vilcek Foundation was introduced to Dr. Glenn and the Pōpolo Project by Catherine Whitney in 2024. Whitney had met Glenn and learned of The Pōpolo Project’s work through her leadership in the arts community at the Honolulu Museum of Art (HOMA).