GRAFTON, Wis.— Elizabeth Kelly is a junior at UW-Stout. Her recent collection of photos, documenting the damage in Kenosha, won her a top prize.
“I submitted them and it works for it so I was like why not?” she said. “I was surprised and very happy.”
When she said the photos “worked for it,” she means the criteria for a contest: UW-Stout asked people to submit an explanation of what civil liberty meant to them.
“This country truly respects ambition of perseverance and achievement,” Kelly said. “Seeing that in people and seeing them strive for it helps the community to strive for greatness.”
That’s what civil liberty means to her. That statement, paired with her haunting images, won her the contest.
Kelly is from the city of Kenosha. She has lived with her parents in Grafton for about three years now, so she only visits her home city occasionally.
She went back in October to visit a friend and remnants of the August riots still remained.
“I took the pictures back on October 16 and even though the riots happened in August, I was still able to see all the destruction,” she said.
Her photos captured a destroyed city, but also a strong city. Messages of hope and unity were etched in many of them.
“There’s one of a burned down building with a huge fence in front of it and all I saw was this little heart someone put there,” she recalls. “It was so touching and you could tell there’s hope in the city that things are going to get better.”
As the nation puts 2020 in the past, the award-winning photographer has a message for those who are reflecting on their own struggles.
“Keep pushing on and succeeding in life.”