HONOLULU (KHON2) – Feb. 1 is the start of Black History Month and organizers with the Popolo Project have come out with different activities for the community to get involved in. 

Akiemi Glenn, the creator behind the Popolo Project, said this project has grown over the years and she is happy to see her passion project take off. 

Glenn started the Popolo Project as her own personal blog documenting her experience of being Black and living on Oahu. She quickly connected with other Black people who had similar experiences and felt heard through her blog. 

Within the past few years, the Popolo project quickly transformed into a place where people can have open discussions and feel seen and heard.  

“We envision a just future for Hawai‘i, achieved by investing in the intersections of our diverse histories and cultures to build connections across communities,” said Glenn. “By making the lives of Black folks visible among what we commonly think of as Local, the Popolo Project highlights the vivid, complex diversity of Blackness.”

Throughout the year they produce educational and cultural activities, create short documentaries, host community gatherings and more. 

The Popolo Project is helping promote the Honolulu African American Film Festival taking place Thursday, Feb. 2.

Glenn is also part of the Honolulu African American Film Festival committee and said the month-long festival will kick off with a dinner reception in the Luce Pavilion with wine and beer available for purchase. 

The first film to be shown is Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power, which will screen at 7:30 p.m. 

Lowndes County and the Road to Black power is about Lowndes County Alabama after the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Lowndes County was eighty percent Black but did not have a single Black voter.

For those interested in attending the film festival’s opening night head to Doris Duke Theatre at the Honolulu Museum of Art located at 900 South Beretania Street.

To purchase tickets for the upcoming film festival click here. For more information about the Popolo Project head to their website.