2005 POINT SCHOLARS

Sol Kelley-Jones

Hampshire College

Sol grew up in a lesbian-parented family on the frontlines of the LGBTQ movement in Madison, Wisconsin. From her earliest years, she actively countered the harmful effects of heterosexism by developing anti-homophobic and anti-racist curriculum, leading LGBTQ diversity trainings, and serving on the national board of COLAGE. Sol’s compelling testimony on same sex-marriage at age 10 launched her into a role as a national spokesperson on behalf of LGBTQ families. As a teen, she spoke at conferences in Oakland, Chicago, and New York and before 500,000 people during the Millennium March on Washington, and did countless media work. Increasingly targeted for her activism and pride in her own queer identity, Sol refused to be silenced, and instead, carved out platforms for marginalized youth. One of Sol’s proudest accomplishments is as co-founder, youth artistic director, and current adult mentor for Proud Theater, an award winning LGBTQ youth theater troupe, now in its seventh year. Presently attending Hampshire College, Sol fuses social-change activism and the arts through her self-designed major: Performing Resistance: Re-imagining Justice-making. Rooted in her belief in the interconnection between struggles for justice and a transformative queer politic, Sol continues the work of creative coalitional organizing across communities of difference.