The Dr. Carter G. Woodson Lyceum’s 2020 Black History Month poster competitions are open this semester. There is one competition open to all West Virginia K-12 students, and another competition open to all Marshall University students. The theme is “African Americans and the Vote.”
For the K-12 competition, students compete with others in their own age group — elementary, middle or high school. There will be a $100 prize for one student winner each at the elementary, middle and high school levels. Their teachers win a $50 gift certificate. The deadline is 5 p.m. Monday, Oct. 28, for K-12 students. Parents must grant permission for the work to be shared publicly.
For the K-12 competition, posters can be sized at 11” X 15” or 8 ½” X 11”. Submissions from Cabell County Schools should go to Marisa Main, related arts academic specialist, who can be reached by e-mail at mm@k12.wv.us and by phone at 304-528-5340. K-12 students outside Cabell County may send submissions to Burnis Morris of Marshall University, professor of journalism and mass communications and director of the Carter G. Woodson Lyceum, at the following address: 1 John Marshall Drive, Huntington, WV 25755. He can be reached via e-mail at morrisb@marshall.edu.
For Marshall students, the overall winning poster comes with a $200 prize and will become Marshall University’s official 2020 Black History Poster for the Dr. Carter G. Woodson Lyceum. Submission of an entry to this competition grants the lyceum permission to use entries to promote various lyceum and university activities.
An informational meeting and brainstorming session is planned for 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 10, in room 411 of the Visual Arts Center, and the deadline for Marshall students’ submissions is at 4 p.m. Monday, Dec. 2. Marshall students should e-mail entries to Sandra Reed, professor of art and design, at sandra.reed@marshall.edu. Entry filenames should follow this format: Lastname_Firstinitial_BlackHistoryposter_2020.
Information to inspire further creative research regarding this theme is available at https://asalh.org/black-history-themes/.
Posters will be judged on how effectively they express the “African Americans and the Vote” theme; their potential to improve race relations and/or preserve/observe black history; and design quality. Examples of winning work from prior years can be found at https://www.marshall.edu/woodsonlyceum/poster-contest/.
Marshall students’ designs should be formatted to 11 x 15 inches and submitted as a PDF or EPS file no larger than 4 MB. The winner may need to adapt their design to additional formats. The Marshall and lyceum logos and credit line to the winner will be added to the winning poster.
Dr. Carter G. Woodson is considered the Father of Black History. Before Woodson received international recognition for his research, he was a West Virginia coal miner. He received his high school diploma from the Frederick Douglass High School here in Huntington, West Virginia, in 1896, and returned four years later as principal. A statue of Woodson, located at 820 Hal Greer Blvd., honors his connections to Huntington and West Virginia. Marshall memorialized Woodson’s achievements by creating the lyceum in his honor. For details about Woodson: www.marshall.edu/woodsonlyceum/