• Michelle S. Lee (Grade 10) from Branksome Hall Asia in Seogwipo-si, South Korea, depicted the story of Claudette Colvin in her artwork The First to Stand, The First to Fight. Colvin refused to give up her seat on a segregated bus, paving the way for the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
• Charlize Holmes (Grade 11) from Plainfield Academy for the Arts and Advanced Studies in Plainfield, New Jersey, based her charcoal drawing A March To Remember on the story of Sheyann Webb. Webb was a young activist who marched for voting rights in Selma, Alabama.
• Sophia Schlueter (Grade 12) from Brownell Talbot in Omaha, Nebraska, paid homage to Judy Heumann in her acrylic painting Power in Protest. Heumann was a pioneering disability rights advocate and helped secure key legislation like the Americans with Disabilities Act.
• Yoonha Moon (Grade 10) from Seoul Foreign School in South Korea drew Journal of Justice: L. Alex Wilson in honor of the journalist. L. Alex Wilson courageously reported on civil rights struggles and was attacked while covering the Little Rock Nine in 1957.
• Deepika Menon (Grade 9) from Palo Alto High School in Palo Alto, California, expressed the story of Inez Milholland in an oil painting on wood panel entitled How Long Must Women Wait for Liberty? Milholland was a suffragist who led marches and gave her life fighting for women’s right to vote.

Each ARTEFFECT Ambassador culminates their visual arts online fellowship with a capstone project that brings the inspiring stories of the LMC Unsung Heroes into their classrooms and communities. As the yearlong program comes to its end, Denise shared about using a choice-based approach in her lesson:

“Students overwhelmingly embraced the ARTEFFECT project, and 85% finished their artwork and completed their artist statements … Engagement was high because students were allowed to choose a hero that they connected with personally.“

Thank you to Denise and the students at Pleasure Ridge High School for your creativity and inspiring ARTEFFECT projects!