Peace Makers Outreach Group to Discuss African American History, Culture through Quilts, June 20 at Library |
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Members of the Peace Makers Outreach
Ministries of Moberly, MO, will display some of the quilts they have
made as part of the African-American Quilt project and will discuss
African-American history and culture using the quilts as visual aids on
July 20 at 1 p.m. For generations quilts have been used as tools for conserving memories. They are given as wedding gifts, at a baby's birth, and made to commemorate specific events. They are made of many fabrics, by many methods, and by many generations and races. However, all are made from bits and pieces into something that is better than it was. Early African-American quiltmakers learned they could also be used as a means of communication. From log cabin blocks representing shelter to flying geese blocks pointing the way, they communicated the road to freedom.
These quilts represent that
road, its heroes, and the
journey along it. Not all the
blocks are pretty but, all are
part of history. It's been a
long journey and a rough road,
but the heroes have been many.
These quilts tell their story so
young African-American people do
not forget they come from a
culture of heroes. They come
from a people that were taken to
a foreign land with unknown
customs to be sold as livestock.
They come from a people that,
unknown to each other, banded
together to build a new
community. Using bits and pieces
of their past, they made things
better than they were. They
began a journey that led from
slavery to the White House.
The journey isn't over. The road
continues. The faces and stories
on these quilts are meant as
road signs. They point the way
for a new generation. They speak
of how African-American culture
evolved. They speak of the
strength of that culture's
people. Keeping the past in
front of tomorrow's leaders can
give them the pride to become
heroes for this generation. To
paraphrase quilt maker Vydella
Chapman, "only by understanding
where they have been, can they
see where they need to go."
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