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2020 brought about one major change to the way we work: the ability to leave traditional offices and work from home (or anywhere else). Like many others, I saw this as an opportunity to interrupt a monotonous work schedule. After I received my second vaccine shot in March 2021, I packed my bags and headed to Hawai‘i.
I landed in Oahu, prepared to get off the tourist trail and immerse myself in the island’s culture. Quickly, though, I was faced with the reality of living in Hawai‘i while Black. Hawai‘i’s Black community represents less than 3 percent of the state’s population. As a Black traveler, I didn’t see many others like me and felt staggeringly visible while walking around. But my experience became a reminder that I’m part of a racial group that isn’t ever allowed to blend in, whether they’re a visitor or resident.
After an especially isolating year, I knew I needed a sense of belonging, and to meet other Black locals I could relate to. I ended up at the Surfjack Hotel, where Akiemi Glenn, founder of nonprofit Pōpolo Project, hosts community-driven events for Black locals on Oahu. The boutique swim club has become a promising place for Black and LGBTQ+ businesses that were suffering during the pandemic, as the hotel has offered their space at no cost for groups that support underrepresented locals.
“We’ve only been around for four years but many of the folks on our board did grow up here were born and raised here in Hawai‘i,” Glenn says. “There’s not a white majority here, but there are lots of ideas about Black people that have been transmitted here through media and some people’s limited experience with military personnel here. [Editor’s note: Historically, a notable portion of the Black population in Hawai‘i has been U.S. military personnel.] It’s a complicated experience and I think some of the work that we do is to bring out our larger community and our small Black community together through events and conversation about what those experiences have been for many of us.”
At the BoxJelly coworking space in the Ward Village popular shopping center, locally based Nigerian artist Nanci Amaka found such a connection. The experimental artist came to Hawai‘i and instantly found solace at BoxJelly, a space created by Rechung Fujihira that provides resources and creative tools for the small but passionate community of Black artists who live on Oahu. “One of the themes throughout all of the Black stories you hear is this feeling of being invisible and hyper visible at the same time, and a need for community and a curiosity about other people who have made Hawai‘i their home, whether they were born and raised here or have come here and stayed and invested in this place,” says Amaka.
