prove his worth and value. Furthermore, for Kanakaneka his experience of being Black and living in Hawaii means he is made to feel unimportant and questioned by others as to his ethnicity, as though he could not possibly be of Native Hawaiian decent. Sharing his experiences of growing up, he stated that, “living in Hawaii I was always considered just Black, even though I am Hawaiian, half the time I am more Hawaiian than half of these kids that claim that they are Hawaiian - Hawaiian, but they’re Chinese, Filipino, White and they’re an eighth Hawaiian, but because I looked like a stereotypical Black kid with an afro hair, dark skin, they just assume you’re just Black”. Whereas today, Kanakaneka’s nephew who is also Black, goes to a Hawaiian
