Kamehamehaʻs Battle for Preference is an animated portrayal of the case Doe V. Kamehameha from 2003. In this controversial case, the plaintiff known as John Doe forces Kamehameha Schools into a heated court battle over their supposed racial discrimination. This animation will shed light on the value of maintaining cultural groups and not succumbing to social pressure.
Founded in 1887, Kamehameha Schools has been a frontrunner in restoring cultural values in our lāhui for over 100 years. Bernice Pauahi Bishop created an environment built to tend to the needs of Hawaiians and mold them into leaders who can help restore the values we as a people held dear. The case of John Doe v. Kamehameha Schools threatened all that Pauahi and her supporters have worked so hard to achieve. It threatened Hawaiian culture. Taking away the school's ability to connect native people to each other and their roots could have had detrimental effects on the Hawaiian community. Our animation hopes to shed light on this situation and highlight the importance of what Kamehameha Schools does by maintaining cultural groups.