Poster Contest Winners – Marshall University Students

When presented with the opportunity to once again create a poster for Black History Month I was eager to get started. I was intrigued by the Centennial theme and the open-ended subject matter. When researching ideas and narrowing them down the choices, I decided on quilts and began ideation. I decided to incorporate all the past poster winners as a way to honor them and their history. After a conversation with my professor to make sure my idea was feasible, I went for it.

What shape and pattern should the quilt blocks be? I started researching quilt blocks and the meanings behind them. I was also thinking of not only the past but also the future of Black History, and what that could mean to those that view my poster. The quilt blocks would represent the past, so what could I use to represent the future. I used a little girl dressed in yellow, the color of safety and hope, to symbolize the future of Black History Month and possibilities that it holds.

Quilt blocks hold a profound place in African American history. Especially during the era of slavery and the Underground Railroad. Quilting was not only a creative expression but also a means of survival and communication. According to the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, quilt patterns are believed to have served as coded messages to guide enslaved people toward freedom. The patterns that I have included in my design are just a few of those various designs. Bow tie, Shoofly, Monkey Wrench, Nine Patch, Bear’s Paw, Crossroads, Flying Geese, Drunkards Path, Log Cabin, Signature, and the Star have all have their place in my poster design.

1. Bow Tie may signal the need for a disguise or a change of clothing;

2. Shoofly signaled that a home offered help to escaping slaves;

3. Monkey Wrench is believed to be one of the first quilt codes signaling to gather the tools you need to escape;

4. Nine Patch is most commonly used for practicality, and as a basic quilt pattern, it was once a signal for slaves that there was a community garden on property;

5. Bear’s Paw signals a trail or path and is sometimes believed to signify a way through the wilderness or follow the bear tracks through the mountains to water and food;

6. Crossroads can either represent multiply paths or a specific destination with one example being Cleveland, Ohio as a key stop to freedom;

7. Flying Geese was used for direction and migration to point the way for slaves toward freedom;

8. Drunkards Path represents a winding, zigzag path, which could be used to show the need to take an indirect route;

9. Log Cabin symbolizes seek shelter now, and you are safe to speak with the people at this location;

10. Signature Patch is a signature of who made the quilt, or a message written on the quilt usually marked with a year;

11. Star is a signal to follow the North Star to freedom.

These quilts would often hang on the clothesline or the windowsill along the trail that represented the Underground Railroad. Women would gather to sew with their nimble fingers, working in secret, and armed with only a needle and thread. They were engaging in a visual language and doing their part to help slaves find freedom. All while creating a sense of community, an opportunity for storytelling, and cultural preservation. Each stitch carried meaning, linking generations through a shared history. Today these quilt blocks are a celebration of a shared history and future. During Black History Month these are symbols of ingenuity and courage. They remind us that art can be a powerful form of resistance and that creativity often flourishes under oppression. By studying these patterns that are so commonly used today, we honor the resourcefulness of African Americans who turned fabric into a language of liberation.

Work Cited

May 3, 2019 | Marie Claire Bryant | Comments. “Underground Railroad Quilt Codes: What We Know, What We Believe, and What Inspires Us.” Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, folklife.si.edu/magazine/underground-railroad-quilt-codes . Accessed 16 Nov. 2025.

The research I did during the creation process was mostly supplementary, as I was fairly confident in my ideas from the beginning. The first thing I learned when making the poster is what the color scheme of red, yellow, green and black represent. Though these colors have certainly been used for posters in the past, I believe they were the best choice to go with. I also learned that some individuals see it as disrespectful to

depict historical figures using unusual colors, which led to a correction being made in my design. The final thing I learned was that the font I was originally using for the header and year, Bauhaus 93, was created by an Austrian designer whose work had appeared in nazi galleries during WWII. I could not find any info on his own political stance, but I changed the font regardless to a non-controversial gothic font.

I decided to use an image of Dr. Carter G. Woodson because he started Black History Month, so he felt like a no-brainer to include. I used that particular image of him for two reasons: 1) It’s a lesser-used photo of him, 2) He is facing to the left of the frame. I wanted him facing the left because that can be used to represent looking back at the past, much like how this year is celebrating the past 100 years of Black history month. Another element that represents the past 100 years is the background, which consists of images of rallies from the Civil Rights and BLM movements that have been framed within tightly packed numbers. These numbers are the digits of every year from 1926 to 2026, and they have been colored red, yellow, and green within a black frame to further represent Black history month.