
 



 
 
 
 
 
 




 



 |
 |


Quilts
and Human Rights

Quilts Honor Champions For Human Rights
Individuals
who stand up for human rights are regarded as heroes and leaders
by those whose causes they champion or support. Some of these leaders
are well known—Rosa Parks, César Chávez, Leonard
Peltier, Chief Joseph, Martin Luther King, and Nelson Mandela; others
are anonymous individuals who have struggled, been punished or tortured,
and even lost their lives in their fights against injustices. Quiltmakers
honor human rights heroes—famous and anonymous, historical
and contemporary.
|
|
|
|
|
South African Black Women Anti-Apartheid
Leaders
Phina Nkosi
Soweto, South Africa
2000
Cotton with polyester batting
77 1/2" x 83"
Collection of Michigan State University Museum
Photo by Pearl Yee Wong, all rights reserved
The quilt incorporates portraits of black South African women who
the artist felt were instrumental in the struggle for freedom in
South Africa. Depicted, left to right and with artist's original
spelling in parentheses, are: (row one) Winnie Mandela, Albertina
Sisulu, Adelaide Tambo (Addelatte Thamo), Lindiwe [no last name
give, but likely Lindiwe Nonceba Sisulu], Thandi Modise; (row two)
Nokukhauya Huthuli, Lillian Masediba Ngoyi (Lillian Mosediba Ngoyi),
Princess Constance Magogo (Princess Contance Magogo), Dudu Masondo,
Stella Sigcau (Stell Sigcawu); (row three) Dipuwo Hanni, Florence
Mkhize (Florance Mkmize), Charlotte Maxeke, Dr. Ellen Khuzwayo,
Princess Irene (Princess Irene); and (row four) Marry [sic] Nontolwane,
Lillian Ntshang, Felicia Mabuza-Suttle, Rose Givamanda, and Kate
[no last name given, but likely Kate Molale].
This quilt was included in a national exhibition of crafts shown
at the Craft Council of South, Johannesburg, South Africa, 2004.
It was acquired during a bi-national South African Cultural Heritage
Project for which the MSU Museum was a lead US partner.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Honor the First
Nations
Pat Courtney Gold
Scappoose, Oregon
1996
Cotton with polyester batting
69" x 85"
Collection of Michigan State University Museum
Photo by Doug Elbinger, all rights reserved
Wasco artist Gold, a recipient of the National Endowment
for the Arts’ 2007 National Heritage Fellowship Award, says
of this quilt, "I wanted to do a quilt to represent various
tribal entities throughout the United States. I could not include
all nations, and it was hard picking the art forms on this quilt.
Each block represents a different tribal art and/or region. I especially
wanted to show respect for the elders in a block. I chose the clothing
style during transition from the 'traditional ways' to the 'white
man' ways. I felt this was a painful time in tribal history, and
the strength of the generation was passed to us. I left her face
undefined, so that as we look at her, we will each see our grandmothers.Another
strong symbol is the turtle. I did put various herbs in it, as do
many tribes. The circle of life is whole. I varied it by putting
a golden halo around it. It displays the reverence as do the halos
around the Christian figures."
The quilt includes: wood mask (Iroquois); beaded flower (Plateau);
whale (Alaska); basket design (Plateau); rabbit (Southwest); quote
(Iroquois); weaving modern twill; petroglyph (Southwest); Yei figure
(Navajo); cornhusk (Nez Perce); quote (Nez Perce), horse (Plains);
hand (U.S.); drum (Plains); frog (Northwest); quote (Shawnee); petroglyph
(Wasco); quail (Southwest); circle of life (U.S.); elder (U.S.);
quote (Cherokee); basket figure (Wasco); turtle (Midwest); salmon
(Northwest); bird (Pueblo); and shield (Alaska).
|
|
|
|
|
Beverly Ann White was interviewed
by Marsha MacDowell on January 21, 2008 at the MSU Museum.
On that day, the Quilts and Human Rights exhibit was part of a campus-wide
celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. |
Mr.
Mandela
Beverly Ann White
Pontiac, Michigan
1990
Cotton
43 1/2" x 44 1/4"
Collection of Michigan State University Museum, gift of the artist
Photo by Pearl Yee Wong, all rights reserved
Of this quilt, White says: “My statement quilts are
made as a result of emotion. The inspiration for Mr. Mandela came
from the very strong emotions of elation and relief I experienced
when he was released from his years of captivity in South Africa.”
The museum has over forty African-American and African quilts,
as well as quilt-related documentary materials, which reflect
a wide range of individual styles and traditions found within
Africa and African diasporic communities.
|
|
|
View
from the Mountain Top
Beverly Ann White
Pontiac, Michigan
1991
Cotton
82 1/2" x 48 1/2"
Collection of Michigan State University Museum, gift of the artist
Photo by Pearl Yee Wong, all rights reserved
“I cannot chronicle the brave and valiant fight of
each and every one of the honorable souls who have fought for
the rights of African-Americans throughout the history of the
United States; I can, however, attempt to show several of those
heroes who have impressed me. May GOD and those who are not represented
here forgive me and perhaps their souls will move other African-Americans
to produce more and more quilts that will extol their efforts
and keep the struggle alive to ensure the ultimate goal of equality
for all.”
White made this quilt to teach students, family, and friends about
important heroes in African-American history. The quilt features
appliquéd and embroidered portraits of Medgar Evers, Thurgood
Marshall, Martin Luther King, Jr., Harriet Tubman, Frances E.
W. Harper, Sojourner Truth, Mary McLeod Bethune, Frederick Douglass,
Ralph Bunche, Booker T. Washington, and W.E.B. Dubois.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nelson
Mandela's Presence
Meena Schaldenbrand
Plymouth, Michigan
July 2004
Cotton, decorative thread; thread sketched by machine bobbinwork
20” x 24”
Collection of Michigan State University Museum
Photo by Pearl Yee Wong, all rights reserved
This quilt was made for the Michigan Quilt Artist Invitational
whose theme was “Exploring Africa.” Of this quilt,
the artist says, “I greatly admire Mr. Mandela and decided
to draw his portrait free motion on the sewing machine.”
|
|
|
|
|
Hilda Freeman Vest was interviewed
by Marsha MacDowell on January 21, 2008 at the MSU Museum.
On that day, the Quilts and Human Rights exhibit was part of a campus-wide
celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. |
Tribute
to Nelson Mandela
Hilda Freeman Vest
Detroit, Michigan
1990
Cotton with polyester batting
49" x 51"
Collection of the artist
Photo by Pearl Yee Wong, all rights reserved
“Fascinated by African fabrics since discovering the
joys of quilting, I was auditioning scraps of brillliant colors
when news of Nelson Mandela's release from prison flooded the
airwaves. How timely, I decided, it would be to fashion the King's
X pattern I had already chosen into a humble "monument"
dedicated to his survival after twenty-eight years as a political
prisoner. African symbols were incorporated into the quilting
and I proudly embroidered MANDELA FREED 2-11-90.” Vest purchased
the scraps of fabric used in this quilt from a vendor of African
clothing at the African World Festival. “I gave him $30
and weeks later, he must have cleaned out his studio because he
sent me a box of African scraps which included pieces of garments,
such as sleeves, etc.”
This quilt has appeared in exhibitions at the Museum of African
American History in Detroit (1995); Juneteenth Celebration in
Oberlin, Ohio; Detroit Public Library (2005); Greenfield Village,
Dearborn; and, in 1996, took a second place ribbon at the Senior
Olympics, Detroit Parks and Recreation.
|
|
|
|
Deonna Todd Green was interviewed
by Marsha MacDowell on January 21, 2008 at the MSU Museum.
On that day, the Quilts and Human Rights exhibit was part of a campus-wide
celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. |
Voices
of Freedom
Deonna Todd Green
Remus, Michigan
1992
Cotton with polyester filling; hand quilted
48" x 48"
Collection of Michigan State University Museum, gift of the artist.
Photo by Pearl Yee Wong, all rights reserved
Each of the 49 blocks in this quilt is devoted to a different
figure important in African-American history and includes an embroidered
portrait, the person's name, their birth/death date, and a note
about their accomplishment. The embroidery is in green, red, and
black embroidery floss—the colors of the Pan African Flag.
This flag originally created as the official banner of the African
Race by the members of the Universal Negro Improvement Association
(UNIA) and African Communities League. It was formally adopted
by UNIA in article 39 of the Declaration of Rights of the Negro
Peoples of the World on August 13, 1920 during their convention
held in New York City. The flag and the colors became an African
nationalist symbol for the liberation of African people everywhere.
|
|
< Backward
Forward >
Exhibit
Start
Exhibit End
GLQC Home
About
GLQC
Collections
Exhibits
Programs
Publications
Internships/Volunteers
Quilt
Index
OnLine Newsletter
Virtual Quilt
Sponsors/Endowments
Links
Quilt Care
Site Info
Contact Us
|