Poster Contest

The Women's History Month committee put out a call for submissions for the official 2013 Women's History Month Image. UofM students submitted their creations meant to embody the theme of "Women Making History Everyday."  The winners of the Women's History Month 2013 Poster contest were Zi Felton, Terrell Harmon, Zachary Morgan, Brooke Smith, and Corie Walker, who collaborated to create the image below based of an image of Zi Felton's grandmother. 

We thought of "Women Making History Every day" and wanted to include every woman into the piece. Our poster is about a woman looking into the mirror and seeing a powerful past that has drastically shaped her future for the better. We ran through ideas of what she might see in that mirror, like images of powerful female figures of the past, but then decided that was too formal. We wanted to be personal. We collectively decided on a picture of my grandmother that I was restoring. I feel as though my grandmother was the perfect choice for the poster because she was an ordinary woman who greatly influenced who I am today.

My grandma is more like a best friend, rather than a grandma. I can tell her anything and she'd never judge me, but she is quick to tell me the truth no matter how painful it is. When I went through my first heartbreak, she was the first person I ran to. She cried with me, consoled me, we swapped stories, and in the end when the time was right she told me what I needed to hear. She helped me get my act together. It was because of her hard truth, the truth of my wrong doings and the truth of her own wrong doings, that I learned to truly love myself and who I am. I was a mean kid, because I was always teased about being a black Jew, but my grandma taught me to hold my head up and to be proud of me. Eventually, I was able to love others. It was my grandma who showed me that I have to love and accept myself before I can love and accept others.

She always has a warm smile for whomever she meets, and she is perpetually helping everyone. She taught me that kindness takes practice, and then it becomes a habit, and finally it becomes a part of who we are.

My group and I wanted most to exalt the women who would never be in history books, but have contributed to women's history everywhere. The image of my grandma represents all the grandmothers, mothers, aunts, sisters, cousins, and friends who are ordinary people that impact our lives on a daily basis. The women who offer their wisdom when we are lost and can no longer see the light, their kindness even when we are rude, and their selfless bravery when we have fallen into trouble and are in need of saving are just as important as the women we read about in history books.

--Zi Felton