Our Griot Logo

• Status: Closed
• Prize: $75
• Entries Received: 3
• Winner: ScrollR

Winner

Contest Brief

PLEASE READ ALL THE INFORMATION PROVIDED BEFORE SUBMITTING:

Byline: Honoring Our History…Influencing The Present…Impacting Our Future

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Griot (definition of Griot)

When 2020 began, we could never have imagined how this year would unfold. We saw the outbreak of the coronavirus, the alarming resurgence of racial injustice and civil uprisings. We heard the embryonic framing of new narratives of American history and felt compelled to develop a medium to capture, record and preserve that history from our perspective: a very different narrative than that which we were taught. The current crisis compelled us to have inspiring conversations about how we, African Americans, survived 400 years of chattel slavery, Jim Crow laws and systemic racism seamlessly woven into the American fabric. If we do not tell our stories, who will? How will our children’s children know how we made it, in spite of overwhelming odds?

Our Griot was developed from our collective passion to capture and celebrate the richness of our African American histories forged by our unwavering commitment and perseverance to create a brighter future for our children. The social activism of 2020 precipitated by the deaths of African Americans like George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tamir Rice and far too many others do not become part of the American history our children learn. We must develop a repository for our African American stories, our families and our generations of children to come.

The richness of the Kente cloth comes from Ghana, dates back more than 400 years and is woven. Ghana was one of the ports with the “doors of no return” of our slave ancestors. We must weave the histories of our stories into the new American narrative: this country was built on the backs of slave labor and unlike others, we have NEVER received our reparations.

WE must tell our stories: how our parents and grandparents sacrificed for us, taught us and shared so many wonderful experiences with us building memories we can pass on to our children.

Mission: The mission of Our Griot is to capture, record, memorialize, archive, and share the rich  history of our African American ancestors while recognizing the indelible impact they made  on  our families,  communities, schools, universities  and the establishment of the United States of America.

Philosophy: Our Griot  believes in the necessity of creating and memorializing a living repository that demonstrates the unrelenting perseverance and persistence of our ancestors’ contributions to the United States, the world, and galaxies beyond. For far too long, our history, language and culture in this country have been diminished, devalued, and erased.  Working assiduously, we will capture the past, memorialize the present, and impact our future by engaging recognized and unrecognized African American living legends.

Recommended Skills

• Graphic Design
• Illustration
• Illustrator
• Logo Design
• Photoshop