Magazine

From the moment she arrived on campus as a first-year student, Ruhama Solomon ’24 began finding ways to get involved and create community. 

In each of her four years on the Hill, she contributed art to the annual UPRISING exhibit that narrates the experiences of Black students, faculty, and staff. For the past two years, she assumed a leadership role and served as a co-curator of the show.

She is the first St. Olaf student twice selected as a George Floyd Fellow. Her work through that fellowship brought established Twin Cities artists to campus and created greater awareness about environmental racism and the ties between art and politics in Washington, D.C.

She has served as president of the St. Olaf Chapel Choir, was an actor and treasurer of the POC Ole Theater Ensemble, and founded the East African Student Association. Along the way, she has carved out deeper spaces for more students to find community on the Hill.

“I have worked to set a foundation for community and engagement — whether it be for other singers of color to advocate for themselves in and out of the ensemble, curating an annual exhibit or acting in a fully BIPOC-casted show that provides a platform for stories untold, or the development of a student organization that defies the misconceptions and monolithic stereotype of the African continent,” she says.

“I have worked to set a foundation for community and engagement.”

Ruhama Solomon ’24

Solomon began her journey into much of this work in 2020, while the world was in isolation and racial tensions were on the rise around the globe. “I learned to find my voice through my art, especially when grappling with my identity at the time. It became a prevalent theme in my writing,” she says.

At St. Olaf, UPRISING provided her with a platform to hone and share the performative poetry at the heart of her work. As she became more involved, it also enabled her to assume a leadership position and think about the important role the exhibition plays in reclaiming space for Black students at a predominantly white institution.

“It is exhausting to constantly work to be accepted and supported. However, we take that, reclaim it, and use this space to address and tackle discrimination on and off campus at its core,” Solomon says.

As she wrapped up her last year with the exhibition this spring, Solomon worked with other leaders to revise UPRISING’s constitution so that next year Northfield community members can get involved in the show as well — a change she hopes will serve as a catalyst for increased dialogue and action.

 “Art is a form that is extremely universal and has been historically used as a method of communication and call for action. It also is a community-building tool, and encourages learning to understand different perspectives. It is not confined. It is emotional, and there is the potent element of feeling that comes with it,” Solomon says.

Through her work on campus, Solomon has learned the power of showing up and speaking out. Along the way, she’s expanded the outlets Oles have to find their own voice.

“I have learned how to advocate and fight for the interests of the underrepresented communities I am in — and provide a space where everyone is valued for who they are,” she says. “I have learned to listen to understand things and people, and not merely to respond to them. I have learned to encourage newcomers and help create a foundation for the greater good of an organization and its mission when I depart.”

At St. Olaf, she’s done just that.