The women on the quilt, black and white, all worked for freedom and equality. Their words still move me as I read them again.
"Remember we are not fighting for the freedom of the Negro alone, but for the freedom of the human spirit, a larger freedom that encompasses all mankind." Ella Baker 1903-1986
"The chasm between what the principles upon which this government was founded ... and those which are daily practiced...yawn wide and deep." Mary Church Terrell 1863-1954
"Problems lie not so much in our action as in our inaction." Diane Nash 1938-
"The ultimate test of democracy in the United States will be the way in which it solves the Negro problem." Rev Pauli Murray 1910-1985
"In toiling for the freedom of others, we shall find our own." Lydia Maria Child 1802-1880
"Shall I be inactive and permit prejudice...to remain undisturbed? Or shall I ...enlist in the ranks of those who...dare hold combat with prevailing inequity?" Prudence Crandall 1803-1880
"Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world." Harriet Tubman 1820-1913
"For it isn't enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn't enough to believe in it. One must work at it." Eleanor Roosevelt 1884-1962
The quilt title, I Will Lift My Voice Like A Trumpet, is from a speech by Angelina Grimke Weld. Born on a Southern plantation, she and her sister Sarah left their home for Philadelphia and became Quakers. Even the Quakers were not accepting of their radical Abolitionist views. Angelina became a speaker for Abolition. She was speaking in Philadelphia when hostile crowds surrounded the building and threatened to burn it down. Still she raised her voice for freedom.
Virginia Dunn was married to a lawyer. When the Dunns supported Civil Rights their Southern society dropped them, socially and professionally. They put up the bail money for Rosa Parks.
Anne Braden (1924-2006) and her husband worked for housing rights. Retribution was forthcoming. She said, "It's a fine thing to sit and talk and get your heart in the right place, but it ain't going to have one bit of impact. Whites need to be visible and engaged."
Fannie Lou Hamer (1917-1972) was a grass roots worker. She knew from experience the truth of her words, "Ain't nothing going to be handed to you on a silver platter, nothing. That's not just black people, that's people in general. You've got to fight. Every step of the way, you've got to fight."
One who chose her battle line was Rosa Parks (1913-2005). She explained, "I knew someone had to take the first step and I made up my mind not to move."
America is still in process of working out "the Negro problem", which is of course really a human problem, involving us all. I take some comfort in Septima Clark's words (1889-1987), "I have a great belief in the fact that wherever there is chaos, it creates wonderful thinking. I consider chaos a gift."
What chaos will manifest itself in America today? What phoenix will rise from the fire of one more polarizing and igniting point? What can we do, can I do, to bring justice and mercy and peace to a broken world?
