Ep 025: From Suffrage to Civil Rights | How We Have Used Quilts to Amplify Our Voices

In this episode, I explore the intersection of quilting and activism throughout American history. I'm not here to share my personal political views or tell you how to vote. Instead, I'm examining how quilters—especially marginalized communities—have used fabric and thread to tell stories, support causes, and make their voices heard when society tried to silence them.

Find show notes HERE for a visual guide for this episode, and to find links to some of the resources referenced in this episode.

I walk through four powerful historical examples: the 1836 Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society fundraising quilt with its heartbreaking poem about enslaved children; the Hoosier Suffrage Quilt featuring nearly 300 embroidered names of women fighting for the right to vote; Jessie Telfair's bold Freedom Quilts made after losing her job for registering to vote during the Civil Rights Movement; and the monumental AIDS Memorial Quilt, the largest community art project ever created.

We discuss a framework for approaching activist quilts, explore subtle political expression through motifs and pattern names, and address the discomfort that can arise when viewing quilts with bold messages.

Whether it makes you uncomfortable or inspires you, this conversation is meant to honor the generations of quilters who came before us and used their art to document what history books so often overlooked.

In This Episode:

• Why "quilting isn't political" dismisses centuries of tradition
• How marginalized communities used quilts to tell their stories
• Framework for understanding and approaching activist quilts
• The 1836 Anti-Slavery Society fundraising quilt
• The Hoosier Suffrage Quilt and women's right to vote
• Jessie Telfair's Freedom Quilts and the Civil Rights Movement
• The AIDS Memorial Quilt: 54 tons commemorating 110,000+ lives
• Subtle political expression are more common than you might think
• Normalizing discomfort when viewing activist quilts
• Why every quilt reflects the maker's worldview

More Resources for you:

The International Quilt Museum's work linked HERE

Partisan Pieces: Quilts of Political and Patriotic Persuasion (July 2020), The International Quilt Museum

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