A VCU grad drew today’s Google Doodle, the first of Black History Month

Former CT Illustrations Editor, Shannon Wright. Photo by Sarah Schultz-Taylor.
Former CT Illustrations Editor, Shannon Wright. Photo by Sarah Schultz-Taylor.

Shannon Wright, a 2016 VCU arts graduate and former CT illustrations editor, was the artist of today’s Google Doodle the first of Black History Month.

The art celebrates Carter G. Woodson, a scholar, author and the founder of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History. Woodson was one of the first to study Black American history and has been called “the father of Black History.”

In her final year at the CT, Wright was awarded the first place prize for illustration by the Virginia Press Association. She was among a team of designers and illustrators to win the second-place prize for front page design, awarded by the same organization. She was also a second place winner in the editorial cartooning, awarded by the Society of Professional Journalists.

The 24-year-old has been published in TIME Magazine, The Guardian and BBC News among other outlets.

Some of her most recent work involves illustrations in children’s books, including “Betty Before X,” co-authored by Malcolm X’s daughter, Ilyasah Shabazz. Another one of her projects will be published with Arthur A. Levine Books, the imprint of Scholastic Press that published Harry Potter books in the U.S.


Fadel Allassan, Managing Editor

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