Here in America, 2017 was a bit of a trash fire, even from my liberal bastion of Brooklyn, NY.
It seemed like every day there was a new attack on something (or everything) I love, and there wasn’t much to be happy about this year. (I did get engaged in July, in Iceland, on a mountain top, while I was wearing Quidditch leggings, to my high school sweetheart.)
But other than that, something that has given me hope this year is the outpouring of protests and resistance and support from so many citizens of America and the world.
On January 20, 2017, the day of the Women’s March on Washington, I was in my childhood bedroom, recovering from having my wisdom teeth removed, so most of my memories of that day are of the images of incredible spirit and impactful posters.
When we show up to protest, and have our voices heard, we bring signs. And signs mean letters. And I love letters.
There was a lot of crying.
And a lot of FOMO.
Here are some of my favorites from this year.
Solidarity from Berlin to all people who are going to fight Trump the next years! #WomensMarch pic.twitter.com/3AxHaUq7qa
— Thees (@theresakalmer) January 21, 2017
There is a special place in my heart for bubble letters.
https://twitter.com/scottgum/status/822869514555719681?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Future type-designer right here!
People can’t deal with this cute toddler and her #WomensMarch sign https://t.co/tHveVbLn0v pic.twitter.com/SYjhu8WEM2
— BuzzFeed (@BuzzFeed) January 28, 2017
Ctrl-AltRight-Delete #BostonResist #FightSupremacy #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/1HBoitiXPM
— Amanda Yanchury (@amandayanchury) August 19, 2017
.#BostonFreeSpeech Lot of creative people here pic.twitter.com/8iBRBLeWQh
— Mark Arsenault (@BostonGlobeMark) August 19, 2017
I very much appreciate the attention to detail here, mimicking the Love Trumps Hate design.
Best. Sign. Ever. #WomensMarch #womensmarchnyc #sobadevenintrovertsarehere pic.twitter.com/TmJydvooqu
— Susan Kaufman (@skaufman4050) January 21, 2017
Science and art come together!
My dad repping it at the #StandUpForScience rally today. #AAASmtg #Boston #ScienceNotSilence pic.twitter.com/Fcwo16PrqB
— Luca (@LuccheseCrime) February 19, 2017
Some particularly nice examples of lettering and message below:
I can’t forget my favorite “sign” to come out of this year of resistance and protest, the Union Square Post-It wall, especially this note advising us to eat more pasta:
And of course this list wouldn’t be complete without one other Harry Potter reference.
Even though I couldn’t make it to The Women’s March on Washington, I spent a lot of time on January making posters for all my friends who were able to go, both in Washington and NYC.
On International Women’s Day, I finally got to debut my own poster in a march on Washington Square Park.
And for the real experts in everything letters and protest, make sure you take a look at the posters the rest of the Alphabettes community made too.
Gathered by Amy Papaelias here.
So in short, even though this year was a rollercoaster of unpresidented ups and downs, I’m so grateful for such an incredible community of artists and women and humans that inspired me and helped me and kept me going in 2017.
Feel free to share your favorites in the comments or with me directly on twitter, I’d love to see them!