In most cases, it is unusual to find a 20-something year old who completely understands the concept of revolution. But Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio is no normal case. Jamaica is a junior at Stanford University majoring in Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity (CSRE). On the surface, she’s like any other Stanford student: she does her schoolwork; she plays rugby; she skateboards. But in between midterms and rugby games, she just so happens to be a Hawaiian revolutionary. Her Revolution: To make her homeland an independent state. Her weapon of choice: Poetry.
Born and raised in Hawaii, Jamaica started as a soccer star before finding a passion for creative writing.
“I had to stop playing soccer due to an injury and I turned to writing to help me get through that,” she said.
By her senior year of high school, Jamaica was competing in the Brave New Voices poetry slam competition and being featured in an HBO documentary about the series. The documentary followed the Hawaiian Poetry Team as they prepared for nationals. At the competition Jamaica performed an original poem about her homeland that shook the whole audience. The poem told the story of the day in which American troops violently took over the Hawaii Islands by imprisoning the Hawaiian queen in her own castle.
Since that time, Jamaica has spent her college years travelling the world, performing for many audiences and educating others about her culture. During the spring of 2009, Jamaica took her message to The White House and performed for the First Family.
“It was an incredible experience,” she said. “I met the President and let him know my story all in the same day.”
Today, Jamaica still educates others about her culture but also enjoys working with high school poets to help them tell their message. She does many workshops and assists them to cultivate their ideas into poetry. After graduation, she plans to attend law school – New York University Law School specifically – and work as a consultant for a non-profit back home.
“My parents are very active in the community,” Jamaica said. “My dad is professor in Hawaiian studies and my mom is a social worker. I have been taught to teach and help people.”
Whatever Jamaica chooses to do, she will do it with flair, tenacity and with her revolution in mind. She writes what she feels and says what is true about many topics including race, ethnicity, love, college and being a lesbian. With her skateboard in hand, she will educate the world about her experiences as a student and as a native Hawaiian.