“And If It Was Your Child?”

“And If It Was Your Child?”

Kent State

This poster is made very simply, but the context behind the poster holds so much depth. In purple letters written diagonally, the poster reads, “AND WHEN IT’S YOUR CHILD?” In the bottom right corner is a mother with a dead child in her arms. The mother has her head fallen back and is wailing. The mother is made to look like a monster, her eyes are on the top of her head and her hands look more like hooves. The child in her arms also looks similar. This art is portrayed on a poster page it could have been drawn or printed. This piece is very important to the Kent State collection because it brings to light the idea that if gun reform doesn’t happen every and any mother could be losing her child. “At Kent State, a weekend of agitation and violence culminated at 12:24 p.m. on May 4, when twenty-eight Ohio National Guardsmen abruptly turned and fired into a crowd of protestors, leaving two dead and two dying, one paralyzed for life, and eight others critically or seriously wounded. The shootings fanned the flames of war dissent and called into question the integrity of government leadership,” reported by John Fitzgerald. This quote only proves further that these deaths brought a serious issue to light. This many deaths and injured in a span of seconds left mothers without children, and this piece informs us that if we don’t make a change more mothers will be left without children.

The Kent State Shootings are a very serious topic and this day is still remembered today. In recognition and protest of Kent State, a multitude of protests were created to shed light on the subject, which is very powerful and important in letting people use their art to express their voice.

In this image, we see a woman mourning while holding her child. We also see the words “And if it was your child?” displayed at the top half of the piece. With both of these components in the piece, it makes it very substantial and evokes many different emotions for the viewer. The artist chose to us a very Picasso-like style for the illustration which suits the piece very well as Picasso’s work was made to evoke certain emotions. This piece was perfect for this exhibit as it projects what the Kent State protests were all about. People are taking the initiative to shed more light on this event. “’With the turn of the century, we decided we should more positively embrace May 4 and use it in a more positive way to help people look forward.’” (Kent State/May 4 and Postwar Memory by John Fitzgerald O’Hara, 304)

Columbia College Chicago Students

Kent State, College Archives & Special Collections, Columbia College Chicago

College Archives & Special Collections, Columbia College Chicago.

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“The oral histories are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License. “ All rights remain with the creators.

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