CEW+ Twink Frey Visiting Social Activist and filmmaker Sophia Kruz will receive the 2018 Susan B. Anthony Community Award at the 40th Susan B. Anthony Campus and Community Awards on April 2nd. Each year the UM-Dearborn Commission for Women selects a person from the outside community to receive the Susan B. Anthony Community Award. The award is presented to an individual whose life and deeds exemplify the dedicated efforts, fortitude, forcefulness, and involvement of Susan B. Anthony, who challenged inequities suffered by women in society and who led the nation to recognize human rights. The recipient is a person who exemplifies Susan B. Anthony’s persistence and determination and shares her basic philosophy that Failure is Impossible.

Kruz is a filmmaker and director of Little Stones, an award-winning documentary that unites the narratives of four women around the world using art to create positive change in their communities. In October 2015, the VSA fellowship supported Kruz who is an alumna of the U-M Screen Arts and Culture program, as she edited her documentary “Little Stones.” The movie features four courageous female artists from Brazil, India, Senegal and the U.S. as they use graffiti, dance, music, and fashion design to create a more just, secure, and beautiful world. The film explores 21st-century barriers to gender equity, including human trafficking, female genital mutilation, domestic violence, and extreme poverty. Through the eyes of the four featured artists, viewers experience the transformative power of art, and how it can be tapped to empower women and girls globally.

Kruz used her fellowship to create partnerships with faculty in the UM School of Education. Advisors, there developed curricula and film screening discussion kits for use with high school, college and older audiences. High school students from Ann Arbor and Detroit assisted in this process by viewing a special screening of the film, providing feedback and then engaging in discussions and visual art projects during a day-long workshop.

The 2018 Susan B. Anthony Campus award recipient is Reading and Language Arts Associate Professor Martha Adler. Her commitment to education and professional guidance to staff, students and faculty earned her the honor.

To read more about the 40th Susan B. Anthony Campus and Community Awards, click here.