Antiracism Symbol Design Challenge

About the contest

Protest art always has been instrumental to the struggle for a more socially just future. From the clenched Black Power fist, to the rainbow flag for LGBTQ rights, to the campaign for nuclear disarmament peace sign, iconic global symbols representing social justice, resistance, and solidarity have breathed life into movements and challenged generations to build a better world.

From the outcry over police violence and voter suppression, to growing opportunity and wealth gaps, to lethal environmental toxins and health disparities, to mass incarceration and deportation, persisting and expanding racial inequities constitute nothing less than a worldwide crisis. We believe that now is the time for the birth of a new symbol, a symbol that captures the power, promise, and force of antiracism—of the antiracist. We are challenging talented artists across the country to create and submit an original symbol that encapsulates the essence of what it means to be antiracist.

The winning symbol will be featured prominently by The Antiracist Research & Policy Center (ARPC) and will serve as the Center’s official logo. This campaign is sponsored by the ARPC and Penguin Random House. The winning artist will receive $5,000.00 and permanent all-access to ARPC’s annual National Antiracist Book Festival.

Selection committee members include Ibram X. Kendi, Alicia Garza, Favianna Rodriguez, Dylan Miner, Sarah Lewis, Sojin Kim, Brandon “BMike” Odums, and Greg Mollica.

• Tuesday, July 16th (12pm ET): Submission period opens
• Monday, July 29^nd (5pm ET): Submission period closes
• Wednesday, July 31^st — Wednesday, August 7^th: Selection committee reviews all submissions and selects 3 finalists
• Thursday, August 8^th — Tuesday, August 13^th: general public votes on winner
• Wednesday, August 14^th: Winner announced

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Enter between July 16, 2019 and July 29, 2019. Open to US residents, 18 and older. Void where prohibited or restricted by law. See Official Rules below for full details.

Ibram X. Kendi is the Founding Director of the Antiracist Research and Policy Center at American University, an Ideas Columnist at The Atlantic, and an award-winning author and essayist. His second book, Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, won numerous awards and recognition including the 2016 National Book Award for Nonfiction and was a New York Times Best Seller.

Alicia Garza is an organizer, writer, public speaker and freedom dreamer based in Oakland, California. In 2013, she, along with Opal Tometi and Patrisse Cullors, co-founded the Black Lives Matter Global Network, a globally recognized organizing project that focuses on combating anti-Black state-sanctioned violence and the oppression of all Black people. In 2018, she launched the Black Futures Lab, which works to make Black communities powerful in politics, and conducted the largest survey of Black people in America in 154 years.

Favianna Rodriguez is an interdisciplinary artist, cultural strategist, and social justice activist based in Oakland, California. Her art and participartory projects address migration, generder justice, sexual freedom and ecology. Favianna leads art interventions around the United Staes at the intersection of art, justice and cultural equity.

Dylan Miner is an artist, activist, and scholar. He is Director of American Indian and Indigenous Studies, as well as Associate Professor at Michigan State University. Miner sits on the board of the Michigan Indian Education Council and is a founding member of the Justseeds artist collective.

Sarah Lewis is an Assistant Professor at Harvard University in the Department of History of Art and Architecture and the Department of African and African American Studies. Lewis is the guest editor of the “Vision & Justice” issue of Aperture (2016) which received the 2017 Infinity Award for Critical Writing and Research from the International Center of Photography. Her articles on race, contemporary art, and culture have been published in many academic journals as well as The New Yorker, the New York Times, Artforum, Art in America and for the Smithsonian, The Museum of Modern Art, and Rizzoli.

Sojin Kim is a curator at the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, where she focuses on projects related to migration, music, and public history. She previously worked as a curator at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and at the Japanese American National Museum.

Brandan “BMike” Odums is a New Orleans-based visual artist who, through exhibitions, public programs, and public art works, is engaged in a transnational dialogue about the intersection of art and resistance. From film to murals to installations, Odums’ work encapsulates the political fervor of a generation of Black American activists who came of age amidst the tenure of the nation’s first Black president, the resurgence of popular interest in law enforcement violence, and the emergence of the self-care movement.

Greg Mollica is Vice President, Art Director for Random House and One World. As art director he oversees the design of all book covers for the imprints, including titles like Between the World and Me, We Were Eight Years in Power, The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates and Jay-Z’s Decoded. His recent designs include How to Be an Antiracist and Olive Again, by the Pulitzer Prize winner Elizabeth Strout. He has won numerous design awards including AIGA’s 50 Books 50 Covers.

From the National Book Award–winning author of Stamped from the Beginning comes a bracingly original approach to understanding and uprooting racism and inequality in our society—and in ourselves.

“The only way to undo racism is to consistently identify and describe it—and then dismantle it.”

Ibram X. Kendi’s concept of antiracism reenergizes and reshapes the conversation about racial justice in America—but even more fundamentally, points us toward liberating new ways of thinking about ourselves and each other. In How to Be an Antiracist, Kendi asks us to think about what an antiracist society might look like, and how we can play an active role in building it.

In this book, Kendi weaves an electrifying combination of ethics, history, law, and science, bringing it all together with an engaging personal narrative of his own awakening to antiracism. How to Be an Antiracist is an essential work for anyone who wants to go beyond an awareness of racism to the next step: contributing to the formation of a truly just and equitable society.

Advance praise for How to Be an Antiracist

“This latest from the National Book Award–winning author is no guidebook to getting woke. . . . Rather, it is a combination of memoir and extension of . . . Kendi’s towering Stamped From the Beginning that leads readers through a taxonomy of racist thought to anti-racist action. . . . Never wavering . . . Kendi methodically examines racism through numerous lenses: power, biology, ethnicity, body, culture, and so forth. . . . If Kendi is justifiably hard on America, he’s just as hard on himself. . . . This unsparing honesty helps readers, both white and people of color, navigate this difficult intellectual territory. Not an easy read but an essential one.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Ibram Kendi is today’s visionary in the enduring struggle for racial justice. In this personal and revelatory new work, he yet again holds up a transformative lens, challenging both mainstream and antiracist orthodoxy. He illuminates the foundations of racism in revolutionary new ways, and I am consistently challenged and inspired by his analysis. How to Be an Antiracist offers us a necessary and critical way forward.”—Robin DiAngelo, New York Times bestselling author of White Fragility

 ANTIRACISM SYMBOL DESIGN CHALLENGE

OFFICIAL RULES

IMPORTANT: Please read these Official Rules before entering the Antiracism Symbol Design Challenge (the “Contest”), presented by Penguin Random House LLC and The Antiracist Research & Policy Center at American University (“Sponsors”). By entering the Contest, you agree to the terms of these Official Rules.  These Official Rules shall govern in the event of any inconsistency with other Contest-related materials.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN.

ELIGIBILITY:  The Contest is open to residents of the fifty (50) United States and the District of Columbia, who are 18 years of age or older at time of entry. All federal, state, and local regulations apply. LIMIT ONE ENTRY PER PERSON. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED OR RESTRICTED. Employees of Sponsors, their parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, suppliers, and agencies, and their immediate family members and persons living in their household are not eligible to enter the Contest.

ENTRY PERIOD: The Contest begins at 12:00 PM (EDT) on July 16, 2019, and ends at 5:00 PM (EDT) on July 29, 2019.

HOW TO ENTER:  Email your two-dimensional artistic rendering (drawing, photograph, etc.) to antiracismcenter@american.edu with the subject line “Antiracism Symbol” as outlined on the contest website: http://www.randomhousebooks.com/campaign/antiracism-symbol-design-challenge.

In the event of a dispute, entries will be deemed made by the authorized account holder of the email address used for entry. Automated entries are prohibited, and any use of automated devices will result in disqualification. Sponsors are not responsible for incorrect or inaccurate entry of information by entrants; lost or late entries or transmissions; interrupted or unavailable network, server, or other connections; scrambled transmissions or other errors or problems of any kind whether mechanical, human, or electronic, technical malfunctions of any computer hardware, software, or any combinations thereof; or problems associated with any virus or any other damage caused to entrants’ systems. Incomplete or illegible entries will be voided. All entries become the property of Sponsors and will not be returned. If for any reason the Contest is not capable of being conducted as described in these rules, Sponsors shall have the right to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Contest.

Submissions may not include obscene, offensive or inappropriate (in Sponsors’ sole and absolute discretion) material or defame any person, or otherwise infringe on any person’s proprietary rights.  If you are submitting a photograph, you must have permission from the photographer (or be the photographer yourself) and have permission from any persons who appear in the photo before submitting it.

PRIVACY POLICY: All information submitted in connection with entry to this Contest shall be governed by Sponsor’s privacy policies: (i) Penguin Random House at http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/privacy/ and (ii) American University at https://www.american.edu/oit/policies/Web-Copyright.cfm. By entering this Contest, you acknowledge that you have read and agree to these privacy policies.

PRIZE:

One (1) Grand Prize Winner will receive:

• Five-Thousand (5,000) Dollars.
• Permanent all-access to all annual National Antiracist Book Festivals.
• Their design featured as The Antiracist Research & Policy Center’s official logo.

(Grand Prize Approximate Retail Value: $12,500)

No transfer or cash or other substitution of all or part of a prize is permitted, except by Sponsor, which reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to substitute the prize or prize component with another of comparable or greater value. Any and all taxes on the prize will be the responsibility of the winners. Sponsor shall not be responsible for any delays, damage in the delivery of the prize, and/or loss of any prize in connection with delivery of the prize via mail.  In the event that there is an insufficient number of eligible entries, Sponsor reserves the right not to award the prizes.

JUDGING/WINNER SELECTION:

Three (3) Finalists will be selected by a panel of judges, including Ibram X. Kendi (Author), Brandan “BMike” Odums, Alicia Garza, Favianna Rodriguez, Sojin Kim, Dylan Miner, Sarah Lewis, and Greg Mollica of Penguin Random House, on or about August 07, 2019 from all eligible entries received by the entry deadline. Entries will be judged on (i) originality, (ii) creativity, and (iii) ability to exemplify the message of antiracism, with equal weight being given to each criterion.

One (1) Grand Prize Winner will be selected by members of the public via online voting. From 9:00 AM (EDT) on August 08, 2019 to 5:00 PM (EDT) August 13, 2019 (“Contest Voting Period”) members of the public can visit the contest website and vote for their favorite design. Votes are limited to one per person. The winner of the public vote will be the Grand Prize Winner. In case of a tie between entries voted on by members of the public, a judge chosen by the Sponsors will evaluate the tied entries and select the Grand Prize Winner. Sponsors will announce the Grand Prize Winner on or about August 14, 2019.

The decisions of the Sponsors with respect to the selection of the winners, and in regard to all matters relating to this Contest, shall be final and binding. Winner will be notified via email and must respond to email notification within ten (10) days of receipt. Winner may also be required to complete, execute and return an Affidavit of Eligibility and Release and Assignment. Noncompliance with these conditions may result in forfeiture of the Prize, and Sponsors reserve the right to select an alternate winner in such circumstance. If winner notification of the Prize is returned as undeliverable, Sponsors may, at their discretion, select an alternate winner.

DISCLAIMERS:  By competing in this Contest and/or accepting the prize, entrants agree that Sponsor, and its respective parent companies, assigns, subsidiaries and affiliates, and advertising, promotion and fulfillment agencies and all of their respective employees, officers and directors will have no liability whatsoever, and will be held harmless by entrants for any liability for any injuries, losses, or damages of any kind to person and property resulting in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, from the acceptance, possession, misuse, or use of the prizes, or participation in this Contest. By competing in this Contest, the top three (3) finalists consent and grant Sponsors a non-exclusive, perpetual, royalty-free license to use their name, city, comments, photographs and/or other likenesses and their entries for publicity, advertising or informational purposes, including without limitation, posting on Sponsor’s Contest website, Facebook pages, Twitter or Instagram accounts, with no additional compensation or further permission (except where prohibited by law).

Any dispute arising from this Contest will be determined according to the laws of the State of New York, without reference to its conflict of law principles, and by entering the entrants consent to the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in New York County and agree that such courts have exclusive jurisdiction over all such disputes.

WINNERS LIST:  For a list of the Winners, send a stamped, self-addressed envelope by February 14, 2020 to Christopher Petrella, The Antiracist Research & Policy Center at American University, Attn: Antiracism Symbol Design Challenge, 4400 Massachusetts Avenue, Washington, DC 20016.

SPONSORS:

Penguin Random House LLC, 1745 Broadway, New York, NY 10019.

The Antiracist Research & Policy Center at American University, 4400 Massachusetts Avenue, Washington, DC 20016.