This special event webinar explored the history of quilting as a form of resistance against slavery. Learn about the significance of quilts in the abolitionist movement and how they were used to communicate messages of freedom. Our expert speakers will guide you through this important chapter of history. From 19th-century abolitionist sewing circles and the legends around the coded quilts of the Underground Railroad all the way to Modern and more contemporary extensions of this practice, such as Faith Ringgold’s quilting and the Sophie Hayes Foundation’s own Freedom Quilt project. Let us connect the concepts of historical slavery and modern slavery, using the former to contextualize the latter whilst illustrating the intergenerational trauma of slavery as well. Listen to the discussion on the use of sewing and quilting as a way in which traditionally feminine spaces were co-opted for the purpose of enabling women to enjoy political agency in the anti-slavery space, and how this practice has evolved into modern day​.
WATCH THE RECORDING:
MEET THE SPEAKERS
Anna Atkin-Willoughby (Host)
Communications and Supporter Coordinator at Sophie Hayes Foundation
Mary Fons
Writer, editor, and presenter specializing in the history of American quilts. Host of “Quilt Nerd"
Former Sophie Hayes Foundation Programme Participant
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Sarah Ashford
Sewing & Quilting expert - @sarahashfordstudio
Dr. Joanna Pawlik
Senior lecturer and Head of the Art History Department at the University of Sussex
FROM MARY FONS:
Here is a list of the best sources I've encountered so far in my research on quilts made by enslaved Americans in the early 19th century:
BOOKS
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Stitched From the Soul by Gladys Marie Frye
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Always There: The African American Presence in American Quilts by Cuesta Benberry
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Threads of Faith: Recent Works from The Women of Color Quilters Network by Carolyn Mazloomi
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Spirits of the Cloth: Contemporary African American Quilts by Carolyn Mazloomi
ARTICLES / PAPERS
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Kinship and Quilting: An Examination of an African-American Tradition by Floris Barnett Cash
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Representations of African American Quiltmaking: From Omission to High Art by Teri Klassen