Kamehameha Schools alumni and other supporters will hold a rally and march in downtown San Francisco next week in support of the school's Hawaiians-first admissions policy, according to one of the organizers.

At least several hundred are expected to attend. They will be joined by Kamehameha chief executive Dee Jay Mailer and at least one school trustee; members of the 'Ilio'ulaokalani Coalition, a Native Hawaiian rights group; and others.

The march, set for noon Aug. 20, will go by Seventh and Mission streets, where the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sits. The court, in a reversal of a lower-court ruling, decided 2-1 that Kamehameha's preferential admissions policy constitutes unlawful race discrimination.

The case was brought by a boy known only as John Doe who is starting his senior year of high school this fall. Kamehameha is appealing to have more judges of the 28-member court review the decision made by the three judges.

Noelani Jai, a 1983 Kamehameha graduate and an attorney who lives in Southern California, said she was bothered by the court ruling when she read it. After exchanging e-mails with other Kamehameha alumni in California, she quickly realized she isn't the only out-of-state Hawaiian who is unhappy and, on Friday, she decided to talk with others about the march.

"All of the sudden it occurred to me one night that we live in California, we live near the 9th Circuit Court, and so I thought it would a perfect opportunity for kanaka maoli on the Mainland to represent those who are in Hawai'i by marching on the court," Jai said.

The word has been going out primarily via e-mails and online bulletin boards and chat rooms.

Jai said she expects at least 30 to 40 people, including herself and her 11-year-old daughter, Kehaulani, to fly to San Francisco for the march.

Since the expected turnout has been growing steadily, the Northern California alumni chapter and school public relations staff in Honolulu are helping put the event together, Jai said.

Last Saturday, an estimated 20,000 people attended rallies and marches statewide in Hawai'i. That included 15,000 who gathered at 'Iolani Palace, most of whom formed a sea of red T-shirts that marched up to Mauna 'Ala, the Royal Mausoleum.

Sacramento-based attorney Eric Grant, who is representing John Doe in the case, said on Saturday that he did not think it was likely that the judges would be swayed by shows of disapproval.

But Jai said that influencing the judges was not the main point. "More than that, we just want to educate folks across the continent, and not just San Francisco," she said. Jai said she hopes to get 300 to 400 at the march although some have suggested as many as 1,000 could show up, given the number of Kamehameha alumni in California.

Vicky Holt Takamine, president of 'Ilio'ulaokalani, said about six members of her group intend to join the San Francisco effort. The group, which was instrumental in setting up last week's Honolulu march, intends to take along about 2,000 T-shirts to sell for $10 apiece. 'Ilio'ulaokalani sold out its stock of 3,000 to 4,000 shirts at last Saturday's rally, Takamine said.

Jai said that besides the march, alumni chapters are talking about holding candlelight vigils Aug. 19 that would be conducted simultaneously across the country. There are more than a dozen chapters on the Mainland, including those in Washington, D.C., and Chicago.