CHESAPEAKE, Va. — The African American Sewcial Threaders Guild has opened "A Hundred Quilts for 100 Years of Black Resilience: The Underground Railroad and Beyond" at the Chesapeake Central Library.
The exhibit features handcrafted quilts that tell stories of those who worked on the Underground Railroad and the generations that followed.
"The Underground Railroad Quilts actually are blocks that are assembled together, but individually they tell a story," Dedra Wright, a guild member, told WTKR's Gabrielle Harmon.
One quilter described her piece as portraying a woman "loosening her shackles and putting on her crown to be the queen that she always was."
The quilts serve as both art and historical narrative, exploring how families have preserved history and culture through generations. The exhibit honors both those who escaped slavery and those who did not survive the journey.
"When we're talking about the African American experience, we're not just talking about slavery. It's not just going to freedom. It's also breaking some of these generational curses," Wright said.
Guild member Lamonica Carpenter emphasized the importance of sharing these stories.
"We as a culture have always kept our stuff in the closet, but we need to tell those stories. People need to know," Carpenter said.
The guild hopes its work will inspire future generations.
"We're not promised tomorrow, but we can share what we've learned about yesterday. So that when tomorrow comes for someone else, they will know and they will have learned," Carpenter said.
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