In February 2025, the Ohio Reformatory for Women (ORW) held its annual Black History Art Contest. This contest was for artists to submit a piece of work that represents Black History. I submitted a portrait of Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther King Jr., and Rosa Parks. These three people, for whom I have great admiration because of their tireless fight for freedom, have inspired me most of my life. My portrait won the first place prize and was displayed in the Riley building for staff, incarcerated women, and visitors to see.
In August, as part of the Recovery Celebration Festival, ORW held a Recovery Services Art Contest. We were invited to produce a piece of art that expressed or represented how our recovery came about. The whole compound including staff and incarcerated people as well as visitors voted on the submissions. My portrait of Douglass, King, and Parks, titled “Freedom” received third place and hung in the winners’ circle during the festival. My recovery is in part due to having the opportunity to earn a bachelor's degree in Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies (WGSS) through the Ohio Prison Education Exchange Project (OPEEP).
OPEEP is a dream come true and has put value back into my future. Getting an education was something African Americans weren't allowed to do in the past. Wining a prize for my portrait honoring people who fought for freedoms and rights, like access to education, for all people regardless of race, meant so much to me. I was honored that my peers appreciated my work and that others valued my artistic celebration of these activists. I hope to be able to continue sharing my art to inspire and to encourage others to express their life through art also.
