 Hello, welcome to Sister Power. I'm your host Sharon Thomas Yarbrough. Our topic for this episode, Forward Forever, where communication meets innovation. Our discussion for today, Black History Month, Juneteenth, and the Black Panther movie, Wakanda Forever. Remembering the past embracing the future. Today, Sister Power is excited to welcome our VIP guest. Akimi Glenn is a Honolulu-based scholar and culture worker. Akimi is the founder and curator of the Popolo Project, a multimedia exploration of blackness in Hawaii and the larger Pacific. David Goldberg is an accomplished Hawaii-based writer, teacher, programmer, and media developer who has used a lifelong interest in our culture, art, and technology to transform the means by which people access, assess, and organize knowledge. Akimi and David, welcome to Sister Power. Thank you for having me. Thanks for having me. Oh, thank you. And David, you've been on before. Yeah, it's good to be back. Thank you. And Akimi, this is your first time. I'm happy to be with you. Oh, I'm so happy. And these are our two new members for the African American Film Festival, which was a great success. Tell me your take on the, from February 3rd to February 10th for the Honolulu Film Festival. Do you want to start? Sure. Well, this was my very first festival as part of the organizing committee. And we had a wonderful week of films and events. We started off with a fabulous opening celebrating Andre Leon Talley, who is the renowned art fashion critic and happens to be from North Carolina, where my parents are from, actually went to high school right down the road from my dad. But it was a wonderful opening night. We kind of had a little bit of fun, had a little gala opening. And then we continued through the week. The very next day, we had a really interesting conversation thinking about the Me Too movement, how it applies to Hawaii after we screened Anita, which is a documentary about Anita Hill and her experience during the Clarence Thomas confirmation. And then we were able to show some other films throughout the week. We saw Boom for Real, which was about the young life of Jean-Michel Basquiat. And we also saw Mudbound, which was an Oscar nominated film that is a lot of people saw on Netflix, but it was really great to see it on the big screen as well. Yeah, I think we had a really strong opening. We had Full Houses for the opening event. And the discussion and energy behind both the world accordion to Andre and the Anita film in particular was really, really great. We had local representatives that were there that were sharing their stories. So we got to see a very intimate look at how women in Hawaii in particular deal with the issue, you know, sexual harassment. So it was really great to be able to connect this amazing, you know, look back at what Anita Hill went through to our immediate concerns in Hawaii. So I'm really proud of being involved in putting that in front of people. And I think the reception was really good. I mean, people came out for all of these films. My mother-in-law went and saw Mudbound and then watched it again on Netflix. She was like, I was really good movie. I'm gonna watch it again. Family affair. Yeah, it worked. It worked. You know what I enjoy about the Honolulu African Film Festival? That's how we're kicking off Black Hicks Street Month. And I wanted to show the audience what I like about Sister Power. We're always educating. We're always motivating and we're always empowering. And we have a rare footage that we would like to show the audience. And Akimi, I want you to talk a little bit about the rare footage of Queen Elizabeth. So this is a photo. I'm not sure the year this is Queen Elizabeth II of England. I think it was in the 1800s. Okay. And Prince Philip. And this is them visiting Haile Selassie, the Emperor of Ethiopia, and his wife Empress Menin Asfal. And they're bowing before them. So this has kind of been circulating in social media during Black History Month because this is a visual example of one of the largest and most kind of pervasive imperial powers in Europe bowing before African royalty, in this case Ethiopia, which has one of the ways that Ethiopia has talked about itself is having not been colonized by Europe. And so this is a really striking image of these monarchs paying homage to each other. And I love that. What I love about this is just showing respect. And that's how each and every one of us want to just show respect for one another, enjoy each other's culture, embrace it. School is a never out. That's one of my husbands saying is we can always learn from each other. And since we're talking about Black History Month, the Honolulu Film Festival, that was phase one. And what I'm enjoying about it, we're having a phase two and a phase three. And so phase two is about Juneteenth. What is Juneteenth? Juneteenth is the label that Black folks have given the rough period of time that the word of emancipation spread across the country. So because we didn't have exact timekeeping mechanisms, we didn't have our own communication networks back then. People knew that they were free or emancipated is probably a better word. They were emancipated, but they didn't quite know when. So since we don't have a precise date, like the birth or death that you usually associate with history, the teeth gives us a kind of nice fuzzy time and space to deal with that. And I think it's actually very appropriate to understand that like, you know, that fuzzy logic is actually in a lot of ways more powerful than that precision of saying this day, this time, because it gives us more room to celebrate and think through things. I like that. And I know that the Honolulu African American Film Festival, along with the Museum of Art, we're partnering with the Popolo Project. First, if I want to know, tell us a little bit about the Popolo Project. Sure. So the Popolo Project is a local homegrown organization that serves Black folks here in our community. We're really interested in being able to amplify the voices of Black people here, because we are an integral part of the community here and our stories are interesting and inspiring and challenging for all of us and for the larger community too. So the Popolo Project, we have a website, thepopoloproject.org. And we do a lot of events last year. Folks might have heard about us because we did Black August. We had a series of events bringing the community together to think about what self-determination looks like for Black people here in Hawaii in particular. This year, we're doing a couple of February events for what we're calling Black History and Black Futures Month this month. We were able to do several earlier this month. We have one tonight, actually, at the Arts at Marks Garage. At 6.30, we're going to be showing a film and talking about what are some of the politics around language as they affect Black people and Hawaiian folks. You know, being able to actually be able to realize who we are and our identities through language. So the project itself is kind of brand new as an organization, but we have a wonderful group of folks as our staff and our board of directors. We've put a lot of energy and resources in making sure that we can be visible here. And so in addition to doing Black History, Black Futures Month in February, we're also going to be doing some things around Juneteenth, including a big party at Capulani Park that weekend right before the 19th. And then we're also going to be doing Black August again with full programming. Well, I know that the Honolulu Film Festival, we just received a memo yesterday that our event is a one-night screening and the film will be determined Saturday, June 16, 2018 at 7.30 p.m. Now, I have two questions for you. How old is Popolo? And tell me about the day and the activities that are going to go on for Juneteenth celebration. Sure. Well, the Popolo project in some ways is very old. I think it's been kind of germinating for a while with me. As an organization, we've really only been doing stuff for the last year and a half. So we're still growing and learning exactly what our community needs here. On the 16th, though, we will be doing kind of a community, we've been calling it a kickback because for several of us who grew up in the South, Juneteenth is a really beloved holiday. One of our board members is from Texas and they celebrate on June 19th. That's their Juneteenth there and that's a state holiday. And for us, it's just a time to really celebrate our emancipation, our ancestors' triumph, their perseverance, and really celebrate community. So as David mentioned in the history of Juneteenth, there was kind of a ripple going through the United States as people learned that they had been emancipated. And there was a moment there where our communities, our ancestors, were able to really imagine what freedom might look like for them. They were joyous, they wanted to be together, and for many of those folks, their vision of freedom was about celebrating and about building and about being creative. And mobility, we'll finally move around without restriction. So reuniting families, recovering connections between folks that might have been separated due to having been sold off and things like that. So there's an energy of reconnection that's also a part of Juneteenth, which I think being in Hawaii as a place that attracts people to it about travel and reconnection, I think that there's some really beautiful resonances about celebrating Juneteenth here. That's also a part of that park when you just think about Capulani Park serving so many different communities from powwows on some years to you know, you see folks that are dealing with yoga and addiction counseling. I mean, so to even think about that park as a site to empower people, I think it's really great. So the fact that you guys are doing it at Capulani is really special too. And it's on the side of where the water, the Pacific Ocean is right there. So that really resonates with Juneteenth's celebration because usually the NAACP, the Martin Luther King March, we're on the other side near the bandstand. So it's going to be on the opposite side. Yeah. And on the day we're planning to, it really is going to be a celebration. So we're talking with some musical acts and performers. We're looking at different vendors who are going to be there to really just celebrate with us. And as David said, this is really an opportunity for us as a Black community in Hawaii also to reconnect with our larger community. There are a lot of people when I talk about Juneteenth who have never heard of it. I know that other folks in the past in Hawaii have tried to gather and do things. So this is not, we're not the first ones here to do this. And I want to make that clear. But this is an opportunity for us as a Black community to really celebrate with everyone else who's here too. And we really do welcome the entire community to be a part of it. That's part of Hawaii. You know, all the festivals welcome everybody. Love it all. Now you said vendors, you're going to have vendors there. We are. How will someone contact Popolo Project to, are you renting the vendors or the vendors? How much are the booths? That would depend on the size of the booth. Rather than give out all the information if folks are interested, they can get in touch with me. You can email me at info at thepopoloproject.org. You can visit us on the website, Facebook and get in touch with us that way. I'm excited. I definitely definitely want to put sisters in power in Hawaii. We're all about motivating and powering and educating all women. So definitely you can count sisters in power in Hawaii on that. Now we mentioned Black futures. Let's educate the people about Black futures. Well, I mean it's inevitable. As long as we're still here, there will be a future. Exactly. So the question becomes what kind of future do you want to shape? Isn't this our first to celebrate here in Hawaii? Is it? The second year, right? I mean you've done some Black futures last year, right? Yeah, we've done some Black futures things. Where was it? Various places, various locations, yeah. You were on the windward side last year, right? We did do some things on the windward side. All over though. I like that. So tell me, what is so special to you? What would you like, we're waiting on grandchildren and pretty soon you'll have your children of your own. What is your takeaway of celebrating Black History Month? Well, I mean I have a 14-year-old son. You do? I do. What's your son's name? His name's Primo. Oh, I like that. And he is Afro-Filipino. Okay. So Black History Month becomes just another layer of his heritage that's important. So him growing up here, I think, makes that learning process that's that much more rich because you know, because the Black population is so small here, it's not the same as if we had stayed, say, in the Bay Area raising him there. So part of it is just the matter of, you know, since we are raising him here that he gets exposed to, you know, as much Black culture as possible. But I don't treat that as a, like he's an empty vessel that needs to be filled with enough Blackness. It's not like that. It's just more about, right, you know, so it's about just him understanding who he is, but then also what makes who he is special being in Hawaii in particular. You know, so for him to be able to, on a certain level, relate to Obama as someone who grew up here is a very interesting wrinkle in his identity as a young Black man and as a young Filipino man, right? So for me, it's always, as a former hip-hop DJ, I like the idea of having different records that I can mix and play for him. That would be you a hip-hop DJ, would you say? Yeah, yeah, I have like 700 pounds of records sitting in the garage that I haven't been able to use. There's your entertainment. There we go, we're going to send you out. That is wonderful. Who is a culture worker? That's a very good question. That's a great question. In your file, tell me about culture worker. Yeah, so for me being a culture worker means that I'm actively not just thinking about culture as a scholar, but kind of changing how culture moves throughout our community. So I'm a linguist by training and a lot of the work that I do is around language revitalization and also looking at languages and the way that we engage with language as a political act. So my research is mostly focused on the Pacific working with Polynesian communities who are trying to revitalize their language like Olalo Hawai'i or Te Reo Māori, or the language that I work on most which is called Tengāngana toke lau and I run a language program. Tell us a little bit about that, take it, it's a beautiful word, break it down to us. So one of my jobs, one of the hats that I wear is I run a language revitalization program that's federally funded and we work with a very small community here called the toke lau and community and they are Polynesian folks who come from the islands of toke lau that are north of Samoa and I run the school. So I teach the language and run the program there. So that's one of the many hats I wear as a culture worker. All right well we're going to take a break and we're going to come back and we're going to talk about Wakanda Forever and the Black Panther movie. I'm excited about that. We'll be right back. Hey aloha, standing energy man here on Think Tech Hawai'i where community matters. This is the place to come to think about all things energy. We talk about energy for the grid, energy for vehicles, energy and transportation, energy and maritime, energy and aviation. We have all kinds of things on our show but we always focus on hydrogen here in Hawai'i because it's my favorite thing, that's what I like to do. But we talk about things that make a difference here in Hawai'i, things that should be a big changer for Hawai'i. And we hope that you'll join us every Friday at noon on Stand the Energy Man and take a look with us at new technologies and new thoughts on how we can get clean and green in Hawai'i. Aloha. Aloha, I'm Kili Ikeena and I'm here every other week on Mondays at two o'clock p.m. on Think Tech Hawai'i's Hawai'i Together. In Hawai'i Together we talk with some of the most fascinating people in the islands about working together, working together for a better economy, government and society. So I invite you into our conversation every other Monday at 2 p.m. on Think Tech Hawai'i Broadcast Network. Join us for Hawai'i Together. I'm Kili Ikeena. Aloha. Welcome back to Sister Power and our episode Forward Forever where communication meets innovation and my special VIP guest is Akimi Glenn and David Goldberg. Now we're just sitting here so excited because now we're going to talk about the Black Panther movie. Do you have a chance to see it? Yes. I've seen it twice. You've seen it twice? Yeah, I'm trying to move back to it and see it again. We're going to go back and see it as well. It's worth that. I was so impressed about the research with all of the African tribes and the young men, the 31-year-old Brian, Ryan, he's a Ryan Cooler. Cooler. Tell me your take. It blows me away. I'm speechless. I'm stuttering. Where do you want to start? I mean, we can start from the opening with the waterfalls. Well, that really wasn't an opening. That would caught my attention. But the twist that I enjoyed was that... Spoilers ahead. And here we are. We're showing it right now. And let's talk about this picture right here, what I love about this picture. Well, there's a spoiler. It's right there. And what I loved about the film that the strong women protected the king. So take this from there, David. Okay. I mean, we can start with the fact that... Where do you start with this film? I mean, we can start from the comic. We can start with the various authors that have carried the comic over the years, ranging from Christopher Priest to Reginald Hudlin to Coates, who's handling it now. I mean, we can get into comic nerd arguments about what was left in and what was left out, and where did the writers borrow? And we could start with the cataracts themselves. I mean, the waterfalls. We can talk about the humor, the budget. I mean, there's so many. I mean, the production design being handled by women, the costumes being inspired by Filipino stuff too. I mean, there's so many ways in. But I think if I were to start any conversation about it, I think the idea that this is probably one of the first major films that gives a sort of new mythology to black people in the sense that you're dealing with a very old story, which is the struggle of a king and resources and someone that's challenging the throne. And those stories go all the way back to all through Africa. And obviously, Greek folk have the... I mean, everyone has these myths, you know what I mean? And until we get an Orisha movie, you know what I mean? Which, you know, or like Bezzurro, we get a good Capoeira mysticism movie, then I'll take Black Panther for now and to understand that these struggles of royalty and power are keys for talking about a lot of deep issues, you know? So for them to have really started from this power struggle and then women playing this key role all around it really brings fresh energy to some really deep topics. Yeah, and you know, going off of what David just said about the mythology, I think there's something really impactful about this being a visual medium. So people being able to see themselves on the big screen and portrayed in a very beautiful way, I think, has been really kind of fascinating to watch ripple through the pop culture because people are going to see it two and three times. People are calling themselves part of the Dora Milaje, who probably are not comic book readers but can connect with the story and kind of the power of the myth that comes through. You know, the picture that was up earlier that Ray was showing and it's about the Dahomey Amazons. And Ryan did his homework and it was about understand that female soldiers in Black Panther is based upon the most feared women in history, like for real. I mean, so these women that you're seeing on the screen, they would fight till the death and when they would go out and fight and come back, they would come back with the man's head and genitals to show that we are powerful, we have won for our country. And what I enjoyed about Black Panther, there was no slavery, no oppression, no racism, and there was some humor there that I really enjoyed and they did bring some modernization into it. And so moving forward, I mean, what's next? It's just St. Angela Bassett and Forest Whitaker was one of the people with the mentor for Chadwick. Yeah, you want to go for it. Yeah, I think the question of what's next is really exciting. Just financially, this movie has pulled in huge numbers over the weekend and folks are really excited about it. And I think one of the things that that means is that there might or there will likely be more resources for being able to pursue some of these stories and for us to not only just see some actors that we love and respect on the screen and be able to have the support that they need, but really being able to imagine what will these other installments of this myth look like? What are other takes that we can have on the Black Panther and the world that he inhabits? And how does that open up a lot of spaces for us to have this Black imagination together across the diaspora, across the African continent, across the world? And I think for everybody, I think the care that Cougler and the writers put into making this story for Black people that are accessible to everyone, mainly because racism is still the problem on the planet right now. So there's probably no better mechanism for getting the whole planet start thinking about it than this narrative, which was about, well, what if you had an uncolonized high-tech African civilization that had to decide was it going to stay insular or was it going to share? And I think that everyone, I think, can relate to that question no matter where you're coming from, because everyone's being confronted with these ideas of do we close our borders? We're dealing with it right now in this country. Are we going to build the wall to keep ourselves in? Because that's what it's for. It's not to keep other people out. The wall is to keep us in. Well, you've just exposed it. That's right. I don't think it's an accident that the narrative of dealing with race and colonization and leadership and trusting women, right? I don't think it's an accident that people are responding so strongly to this. And I think it'll be interesting to see how much further they can take it, because Black Panther is an Avenger. Superhero. Yeah. And we get to deal with the Infinity War even before the next Panther movie. So he's going to deal with cosmic stuff is going to be going on in the next films. I mean, it's a major piece of intellectual property and creativity. Wow. And you know, this is it. We are done. I don't want the last word. I don't want the last word. I don't want the last word. This is just so phenomenal that, again, we must do a part two. And I want to thank you, Akimi, Glenn, and David Goldberg. We have so much more to cover. You're a culture writer as well. And I can't wait to hear more about Juneteenth celebration. And I want to leave with Know Thyself. Where'd she go? All right. Well, kind of forever. Right. Love it. Thank you so much. Oh, this was wonderful. Thank you.