Saturday, a star-filled, community-made quilt honoring Kentucky, American and Black history through textile storytelling will be revealed at a community quilt reception.
The unveiling at the Appalachian Arts Alliance will feature the work of community sewers, quilters and learners that has been in the works for nearly a year.
Emily Hudson is the founder and executive director of the Southeast Kentucky African-American Museum and Cultural Center, based in Hazard. The organization has a building, but it’s fundraising to replace the roof before moving in.
Hudson came up with the Stories behind the Quilt program to continue the Black and Appalachian legacy of using quilts to pass down stories.
“Stories are important. It's a way of sharing our history,” Hudson said. “It's a way of connecting with people and showing what we share in common.”
The eight-week program brings together community members to help prepare quilt squares. The work being unveiled this weekend was started last year, and while the annual project is typically revealed in December, community members needed more time to finish the art piece.
The quilt celebrates America’s 250th birthday, though previous themes have focused on Black and Appalachian culture and the history of Hazard.
“I'm going to do a PowerPoint, and the PowerPoint has each quilt block on it, and we'll just talk very briefly about that quilt block,” Hudson said. “Then we'll have a panel discussion, got a couple of people coming, and then after that panel discussion, we will have the reveal.”
Hudson hopes those who attend will start thinking about history and all the ethnic groups that played a role in building the U.S.
In the future, the museum will have an exhibit featuring the five quilts the program has made. In addition, the group has also produced a video series on the making of the pieces.
Hudson called this year’s theme “in the pursuit of liberty” and wanted to be a part of the America 250 projects to “tell the stories of those who are still seeking freedom.”
She said part of the quilt focuses on Black involvement in notable events, like the American Revolution, the Emancipation Proclamation and the Civil Rights Movement.
“(The U.S.) got their independence from Great Britain, and then we start looking at that history and not everybody's free, even when you look at the Constitution, Declaration of Independence and all of that, and the clauses and things that it has in it,” Hudson said. “‘All men are created equal’ and all of that kind of a thing, who was that meant for? So there's still this long pursuit of liberty, and it's important that we don't forget that.”
Throughout the last year, the museum has been doing a series of projects focused on the pursuit of liberty theme, including panel discussions and a workshop with the Boys and Girls Club.
Sandra Jones, the lead researcher and project assistant, puts together the quilt each year. She learned sewing from her mother and described herself as “mom's third leg in the sewing room.”
“I just had this vision of this quilt and so I started talking about it and everybody was getting excited and decided to go with that,” said Jones, who is also Hudson’s sister.
There have been a few younger participants in the program, Jones said, but some are familiar with sewing already. For those with fewer skills, she teaches them.
Hudson gives everyone a chance to have their hands on the quilt and have a block where they can see their work at the reveal.
“I'm always nervous about what people think about the quilts when they're revealed, but I guess because we sweat so much over them,” Jones said.
The quilt on showcase this weekend features the American flag, a bald eagle and star quilt blocks as traditional odes to the U.S., as well as references to Kentucky and notable historical figures.
Hudson said one of the most significant things that comes out of the workshops isn’t the quilt, but the conversations people have while they’re working.
“There's just so much history there, and if we don't share stories about it, if we don't talk about it, then that history is going to be gone, fading away,” Hudson said. “We tell these stories to keep the history alive.”
