January 2020 Winning Bulletin Board by Doka E.

The hairstyles of black women have been extremely creative and versatile since the beginning of time. Although many people of other races notice our diverse range of hairstyles, they are often uninformed on the different names of these hairstyles and the functions they serve. In honor of Black History Month, I decided to create a board that would shed light on this aspect of being a black woman that is commonly overlooked. As black women, our hair affects our experiences in the world we live in greatly. Because of our natural hair's often coarse, or kinky or curly texture, black women often have to be extra conscious about their hairstyles when in certain environments such as schools, workplaces and religious gatherings. It is because of exactly this that many Black women till this day spend large amounts of money to damage their hair with chemicals to make it straighter and thus remove the natural kinks and curls they were born with. Within the last decade, a Natural Hair Movement began that has encouraged millions of Black women around the world to start treating their hair better and embracing its natural beauty. My board shows over 11 different hairstyles that black women do with their hair. The hairstyles featured on my board include: box braids, marley twists, bantu knots, passion twists, braidouts, twistouts, senegalese twists, sleek back ponytails and buns, wigs, sew-ins, faux locs, cornrows and several other natural hairstyles.

 November   2019 Winning Bulletin Board by Ammann College

  This bulletin board is aimed at raising awareness around Native American Heritage Month. The center of the board is a map of the United States prior to colonization and shows the diverse array of tribes that existed in the United States as well as their languages and language family. Spreading out from the map are the different sections of the United States enlarged to show details of the smaller groups and languages in each part of the United States. There are also parts of the board’s labeled terminology, slurs, and ways to be an ally. The terminology section of the board looks at when to use terms such as “Indian” “Native American” “Indigenous” and “First Nations” so that people are aware of which term is correct and when it can be used. The second part of the board is slurs and talks about some common slurs used, particularly in sports, as well as misused and problematic terms regarding indigenous cultures. Finally, there is a section about being an ally. This section lists ways to be an ally such as realizing that DNA doesn’t always equate to a person’s status as an indigenous person and helping educate people on terms such as chief and spirit animal. Lastly, the border of the bulletin board is a list of influential native people, their language, and which group they originated from. This board has made a big impact in the building with many residents stopping to talk about the map and look up the names of those listed in the border to learn more about who they were.

October 2019 Winning Bulletin Board by Joli V.

 

This board is aimed to give an ode to Frida Kahlo. I included a few of her self portraits for students to examine and analyze. The quote on the bottom shared why Frida paints self portraits, because she knows herself best. On college it is easy to lose sight of yourself by partying, trying to fit into groups, studying. Students do not have time for themselves and feel the pressure to have a billion of friends on campus. I want this to inspire other students to take some time for themselves, take themselves on a date, so that they can truly understand who they are—enough to paint their own self portrait. I found it interesting that Frida was able to paint her story in her paintings, which is why I titled the board “Frida Kahlo’s Painted Diary”. The few intricate details (the flowers, fans, colors, and spanish words) give a little glimpse into the Hispanic culture.

September 2019 Winning Bulletin Board by Jordan R.

The bulletin board is themed to the song "This Is Me" in The Greatest Showman movie. There are two blank sections, one for "Identities/Qualities I love about myself" and another for "Things I am self-conscious about." After the pages were full, the second section was unfolded to show the full message "Things I am self-conscious about that also make me unique and beautiful." This reminded residents that they are special and valued and that even the things they may be self-conscious about still make them unique and beautiful. Additionally, the right-hand side of the board is designed after the Bearded Lady of The Greatest Showman, with her beard composed of words conveying some marginilized groups or identities that are commonly made to feel "othered" and her dress, composed of words that are empowering and positive, in an artistic and symbolic way conveying how we can wear our identities proudly and visibly and still feel confident and powerful as individuals, and members of our community.