Informed, Empowered

Informed, Empowered was created in 2008 as part of Groundswells Summer Leadership Institute by a group of young women participating in our Voices Herd Visionaries program. During a spring seminar, Groundswell youth who exhibited leadership potential were invited to discuss several issues pertaining to young women in the world today. Many of the young artists wanted to address the issue of military recruiting and the targeting of youth in low-income areas. As a result of the No Child Left Behind Act 2001, military recruiters have access to high school students personal contact information, enabling them to approach young people not only in their schools but also within their own homes. Using a visual style inspired by wartime propaganda posters from around the world, the mural portrays three strong young women poised in classic military poses, armed not with violent weapons but with tools of creation and education. The mural attracted a great deal of interest from both the public and news outlets and will continue to make a bold statement for years to come.