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Honorable Mention, 2D

As a black student in a post-August 11th and 12th UVA era, I have seen the slow unraveling and (re)framing of the legacy of Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson’s contributions to this institution and the nation often overlook the terror he imparted on the very hands that built both “his university” and democracy itself. This collage physically (re) frames a portrait of Jefferson that hangs on a hall of the Rotunda, (re)centering Isabella Gibbons, who contributed more to the University than we will ever know. As a black student, I hear and see the pain felt by the 400+ enslaved laborers day in and day out. As I walk through the gardens, I remember the unnamed voices who cried out. As walk along the lawn, I see the voices of black students today crying out against the same oppression felt some 200 years ago.