No Hate in the 808 campaign launches on Big Island buses, online ads

The No Hate in the 808 campaign put civil-rights messaging onto Hele-On buses and social media Friday, aiming squarely at Hawaii Island riders in a county that filed 58 of the state’s 379 discrimination complaints last year. The rollout, which continues through May 31, marked the first statewide initiative to bring together the Hawaii State LGBTQ+ Commission, the Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women and the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission.

The ads are running on buses in Hawaii County and Honolulu County, with digital placements spread across social media platforms and QR codes meant to send people directly to help. State officials framed the effort as more than a slogan, saying it was designed to reach commuters who may have time to read during longer trips between stops, as well as residents and visitors who may not know that Hawaii law bars discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, real estate transactions and state-funded services.

Rainbow Family 808, a local nonprofit that supports LGBTQIA+ and straight families, as well as homeless unaccompanied minors, is part of the campaign’s community-facing side. That partnership gives the rollout a practical local angle on Hawaii Island, where transit, online ads and nonprofit networks may be the quickest way to connect people with rights information and complaint resources across a geographically spread-out county.

The Hawaii Civil Rights Commission, which was created through Acts 219, 386 and 387 in 1988 and 1989 and began operating in January 1991, said it receives, investigates, conciliates and adjudicates discrimination complaints. Its public guidance says the agency enforces anti-discrimination laws covering employment, housing, public accommodations and access to state and state-funded services.

The other two commissions carry their own history into the partnership. The Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women was created by executive order on May 15, 1964, and Governor Josh Green’s office says the state’s LGBTQ+ Commission was established in 2024 as Hawaii’s first LGBTQ+ advisory commission. Together, the three bodies are trying to make the state’s protections more visible in the places people already spend time, from bus seats to social-media feeds.

On Hawaii Island, that visibility test comes with clear stakes. A campaign that reaches riders on Hele-On and people scrolling on their phones is aimed at turning legal protections into something more immediate, especially for those who have seen discrimination up close and do not yet know where to file a complaint.