Rice & Roses
The Rice & Roses television series was a production of the University of Hawai‘i’s Center for Labor Education & Research (CLEAR) originally telecast on Hawai‘i Public Television (KHET).
Videos and video clips from many of the most popular of these programs may now be viewed on the Center’s YouTube Channel
The Rice & Roses series began in 1971 as a groundbreaking television program dedicated to Hawaiʻi’s labor movement, produced in collaboration with Hawaiʻi ETV and the University of Hawaiʻi. Throughout its run, it saw various producers, hosts, and time slots, with Chris Conybeare becoming producer/host in 1981. While regular programming ended in 1987, occasional specials continued into the 1990s, resulting in a total of 310 episodes over 25 years.
Rice & Roses Series History
The Rice & Roses television series, launched in 1971, was a pioneering program about Hawaiʻi’s labor movement produced in partnership with Hawaiʻi ETV and the University of Hawaiʻi. Over the years, it evolved through different producers, hosts, and time slots, with Chris Conybeare taking over as producer/host in 1981. Though regular programming ended in 1987, the series continued with occasional specials, ultimately producing 310 shows over 25 years.
Rice & Roses Video Collection
BROTHERS UNDER THE SKIN
1946 SUGAR STRIKE
GREAT HAWAII DOCK STRIKE
Rice & Roses presents MEMORY LANE
Rice & Roses presents CANEFIELD SONGS Holehole Bushi
Ah Quon McElrath Project
By exploring her life, the Ah Quon McElrath Project documents some of Hawaiʻi’s most important history and demonstrates how one woman’s compassionate determination helped to lift thousands of families out of poverty. Her remarkable story is inextricably tied to critical historical events. Her life journey encompasses not only the rise of labor unions in Hawaiʻi, but reveals the selfless and heroic sacrifices of a generation of working people. Her story chronicles the labor movement’s achievement of decent hours, decent pay, safe working conditions, and a voice in the direction of Hawaiʻi's future for working class people.
The project is a collaboration between the Hawaiʻi Labor Heritage Council (HLHC), the Center for Labor Education and Research (CLEAR), University of Hawaiʻi-West Oʻahu, and Hawaiʻi Women in Filmmaking. Made possible thanks to the generous support of Frank Moy and Marcia Mau and the Hawaiʻi Council for the Humanities.
This collection brings together powerful documentaries and interviews that highlight the life and work of Ah Quon McElrath, a champion of labor and social justice, alongside Barbara Kawakami’s vivid storytelling of plantation life in Hawaiʻi. It also includes a rich variety of history, culture, and labor stories that preserve the voices and experiences of working people across generations. Together, these materials offer an invaluable resource for understanding Hawaiʻi’s labor struggles, cultural heritage, and community resilience.
For more stories visit the collection at laborhistoryhawaii.org
Resources
Plantation History Preservation Project
Rice & Roses production materials
'Ulu'ulu Moving Image Archive of Hawaii
This creative team brings together Emmy Award–winning producer Chris Conybeare, filmmaker Joy Chong-Stannard, and celebrated writer Victoria Nalani Kneubuhl. Together, they combine decades of experience in documentary filmmaking, archival research, and storytelling to share Hawaiʻi’s rich labor and cultural history. Their work highlights inspiring figures, pivotal events, and enduring traditions, ensuring these stories continue to resonate with future generations.
Support the AQ Project
With your support, we created a documentary that preserves forever the life story of this extraordinary woman! Through rare and fascinating footage, we will illustrate the struggle of those who labored on plantations, on docks, and in hotels and factories.
The Project will maintain a robust website that allows free access to the documentary, to our complete interviews for the documentary and other projects, and to our educational materials about Hawaiʻi history and culture. In addition, we will create curriculum materials for classroom use to insure that this important history is not lost in the chasm of time. These components build on three decades of video documentation of Hawaiʻi’s plantation culture and labor history captured by the Center for Labor Education & Research (CLEAR) at the University of Hawaiʻi - West Oʻahu.
In Memoriam: Chris Conybeare
The Center for Labor Education and Research (CLEAR) mourns the passing of our longtime colleague and friend, Chris Conybeare, an Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker, journalist, educator, human rights attorney, and steadfast advocate for press freedom and social justice. Chris passed away on September 20, 2026, at the age of 82.
Chris joined CLEAR in 1994 and earned tenure as a faculty specialist in 2005. His contributions to Hawaiʻi’s labor history began well before he came to the Center. In 1981, he became the producer and host of Rice & Roses, the groundbreaking television series dedicated to Hawaiʻi’s workers and labor movement. Over the decades, he produced and directed numerous labor-history programs for television, classroom instruction, and public exhibition. His work helped preserve the experiences, struggles, and accomplishments of Hawaiʻi’s working people for future generations.
Through Rice & Roses and his many other productions, Chris helped establish an invaluable moving-image record of Hawaiʻi’s plantation and working-class history. Today, this collection is preserved at UH West Oʻahu through ʻUluʻulu: The Henry Kuʻualoha Giugni Moving Image Archive of Hawaiʻi. His productions included Canefield Songs: Holehole Bushi, which brought the experiences and songs of Japanese immigrant plantation workers to audiences in Hawaiʻi and beyond.
Chris’s final major film project with CLEAR before his retirement in 2024 was Ah Quon McElrath: The Struggle Never Ends! Working alongside longtime collaborator Joy Chong-Stannard and others, Chris helped document the extraordinary life of one of Hawaiʻi’s most influential labor and social-justice leaders. Released in 2024, the documentary received national public-television distribution in 2026, extending both Ah Quon McElrath’s legacy and CLEAR’s work to audiences across the country.
Beyond labor education and filmmaking, Chris devoted his life to human rights, independent journalism, and the defense of a free press. He served as president of Media Council Hawaii, worked internationally to promote press freedom, and consistently used his knowledge and voice to protect the public interest and speak up for those too often left unheard.
Chris leaves behind a remarkable body of work and a legacy of courage, compassion, and service. CLEAR is deeply grateful for his decades of dedication to labor education and for his commitment to preserving Hawaiʻi’s working-class history. His influence will live on through the stories he told, the people he mentored, and the historical record he helped safeguard.
We extend our deepest condolences to Chris’s partner, Kathryn Braun, his family, friends, colleagues, and all whose lives were touched by his work.