Sojourner Kincaid Rolle & Rod Rolle

In August 2024 we will be fundraising for a King Palm tree dedication and memorial plaque for a tree on Santa Barbara Street next to the Santa Barbara County Courthouse. Any size donation is greatly appreciated.

In late October 2023, Sojourner Kincaid Rolle was placed in Hospice at Serenity House in Santa Barbara, California. Her long battle with cancer has been wrought with many ups and downs, which includes visits to several doctors, specialists, and now hospice. Sojourner and her husband Rod Rolle, longtime community artist and activist, have always believed in the power of community and devoted their lives to investing in programs and arts, for their community.

At this stage in Sojourner's life, we are asking for their community to come together and support her and her husband as they navigate several medical bills and end-of-life planning. No donation is too small or big, we are grateful for whatever you can provide.

Sojourners Impact

Sojourner, a 40-year resident of Santa Barbara, is a poet, playwright, and cultural activist. She has worked for UCSB, the County of Santa Barbara, The Santa Barbara Independent, and countless other community-centered organizations. She served a two-year term as Santa Barbara's Poet Laureate (2015 - 2017) and she is a 2021 Congressional Woman of the Year - an honor by Congressman Salud Carbajal. More recently, she published a children's book, "Free At Last," that showcases her almost 20-year-old poem on Juneteenth.

Sojourner is the glue that connects community members, young and old. She is a truthteller who exhumes our past stories and brings them to life as a reminder of where we have been and where we can go. In that, she has volunteered her time to be a historian for the Black Santa Barbara Community, and she is heavily involved as a guiding elder for the Juneteenth Santa Barbara and Healing Justice Santa Barbara organizations.

Through multiple school and public programs, she uses her craft to engage poets, and everyone. It is community members like Sojourner that make Santa Barbara County special and her energy has touched thousands of lives for the positive.

We hope you are able to give what you can to someone who gave our community so much. Please note that this is the first of several more opportunities to contribute and celebrate Sojourner.

Thank you,

Friends of Sojourner & Rod