The Hawaii Chapter of the NAACP along with several other civil rights advocates will march tomorrow in Waikiki to protest the continued employment of the state's top tourism executive who is under fire for forwarding pornographic, racist and sexist e-mails from his government laptop.

Protesters, who are slated to march though Hawaii's main tourism district from noon to 3 p.m., have called for the removal of Rex Johnson as head of the Hawaii Tourism Authority. They will carry signs, pass out leaflets and collect petition signatures.

“;Any form of racism is wrong and should never be tolerated, especially in the workplace,”; said Alphonso Braggs, president of the Hawaii branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. “;These e-mails were very offensive and targeted African Americans, Hispanics and women.”;

Johnson has admitted that he used his state laptop to forward e-mails to friends, which contained pornography, racist and sexist jokes.

On March 22, Johnson e-mailed a joke that referred to Sen. Barack Obama as a “;coon”; and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton as a “;beaver.”;

After a state auditor flagged Johnson for sending pornographic e-mails, he publicly apologized. Johnson said that he also talked with Braggs on the phone and met with him in person.

“;As I stated all along, the transferring of e-mails is not a reflection of my beliefs or my character,”; Johnson said. “;I was trying to alleviate any concerns and would continue to alleviate any concerns. I was a little bit surprised by their decision to march.”;

In August, the HTA board elected not to fire Johnson for the inappropriate use of his state computer. Instead, they reduced his salary to $200,000 and cut his contract to one year.

However, at the time, they were not aware of the other racist and sexist content, said HTA Chairman Kelvin Bloom.

The HTA had planned to revisit Johnson's fate on Monday, but Bloom said yesterday that the meeting might have to be postponed.

“;It's virtually impossible to have all of the board members there; however, we need as many as possible,”; Bloom said, adding that he was informed of the impending protest during a private meeting with Braggs yesterday.

Johnson's removal also has been called for by Gov. Linda Lingle, Sen. Gordon Trimble, the Girl Fest Hawaii, African American Association of Hawaii, African American Lawyers Association, Hawaii Women's Political Caucus and the Japanese American Citizens.

Still, he has received widespread support from pockets of the state's visitor industry, and state Sens. Donna Kim and Colleen Hanabusa have remained steadfast supporters.

Eric Masutomi, vice president of planning for Outrigger Enterprises Inc., said that the controversy is not likely to matter outside of the state.

“;It might pique some interest, but I'm not sure it will impact whether or not Joe Public decides to take a trip to Hawaii,”; Masutomi said.

Murray Towill, president of the Hawaii Hotel and Lodging Association, said Johnson has done a good job leading the state's tourism industry.

“;I think he can continue to do so, Towill said.