Exhibit: African American Quilt Showcase
Posted on: December 9, 2022, by : aahmsnj.orgExhibit Featuring Quilts from the Sewing Club in Rockland County, New York
At AAHMSNJ, Newtonville
Martin Luther King, Jr. Center, 661 Jackson Road, Newtonville, NJ 08346
In African American culture, quilts can carry great meaning. That is why the African American Heritage Museum of Southern New Jersey, Inc. (AAHMSNJ) will present an exhibition of Quilts by members of the Sewing Club from Rockland County, New York.
“Hosting the Quilt Showcase during African American History Month lets us share the significance of the quilt to our history,” explains Ralph Hunter, President and Founder of the AAHMSNJ. During slavery, it was against the law to teach an enslaved person to read or write. Other ways were found to communicate. The use of coded symbols on a quilt draped over a fence could warn of danger, tell of a clandestine prayer meeting by the river, or direct passengers on the Underground Railroad to the next “station.”
The quilts on display in Newtonville are examples of modern quilting by the members of the Sewing Club who are continuing the tradition of telling stories with bits of cloth. Doreen Mollette-Sullivan, organized the exhibit of colorful quilts with fellow quilters Frances Thomas, Ronald Porcher, Joan Raynor, Deseria Ramos, and Deborah Williams.
Admission is free, but donations are encouraged.
Newtonville hours: Monday-Friday: 10 AM-5 PM and weekends by appointment.