~Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed quilters, crafters and knitters can change the world.~ {With my apologies to Margaret Mead for skating on her famous quote} The time has come to become the change we need to see and at BadAss Quilters Society we believe that #blacklivesmatter and that the sewing, crafting and quilting world needs to be the vanguard in this matter using our artistic talents to make sure that black lives are just as relevant in our industry as any other.~
My hands have hovered over the keyboard for a good 30 minutes as I thought about how to start this post and I still am not sure how to start. I also don’t know how it will end but I know in the middle I will say to you that it is time we embrace #SewDiversity and weave it through our passions for thread, fabric and yarn. For we have the chance to become the people who stood up and said “no more”, and “not on my watch”, to acknowledge the the disparity and inequality between black and white and help make it right. Our call is to become the artisans that fearlessly advocate for diversity in all areas of the sewing and craft world. Our goal is to see the hands and faces of color on our pattern covers, in our books, tutorials and more. While a small start for sure this is the part of world where we effect the most and have the most say. #Blacklivesmatter
I am personally as pasty skinned as a piece of Wonder Bread but know blatant injustice when I see it, and I see it way too often these days. From the news of yet another black man being gunned down with little to no provocation to the words I hear uttered in my shop by some customers. Amazingly some customers think that just because I am a quilter that I would support racial slurs or derogatory references to race. You would think that having both black and white mermaids last year for Row by Row would have made it clear that we support all colors of the rainbow and yet overhearing some of the comments turned my stomach and made me even more determined to make SPOOL a store that supports diversity.
Just as I truly believe that women will not be safe until the good men in our lives stand up and join us by taking undeniable actions against the men who think they own women’s bodies, it is time for those of us who were gifted with inborn privilege ( read that as being white) stand up and defend those who are black ( or any other color for that matter).
I call on my friends and BadAss supporters in the industry to gather in a movement I am calling # SewDiversity. When you see things that are wrong in our industry use your voice, and this hashtag ( #SewDiversity) to point it out. When you see GOOD in our industry take the time to thank the company, designer or shop owner for their efforts no matter how small by using the hashtag and social media as a force for good.
We must show what matters to us and call out that which is so vile that we are not willing to be part of it by our actions, our dollars, or complacency and privilege.
Today I start…. I am sending love and light out the most wonderful Jodi Carleton for her inclusion of both a black and a white nurse dolls in her adorable pattern Winnie and Pip {Nurse in Charge}.
Want to be part of the movement? You can grab this image below and use it on your own blog, post or other social media endeavor to help people understand that now is the time and we are just the group of people to make it happen!
I just found this website, I’m getting back into sewing so I’m just immersed right now in sewing websites and research. I love this idea! I’m totally in! Following you here and on Facebook. #blacklivesmatter #sewdiversity
Wow…where are the comments that did not agree with you? I thought there were many. I am 100% for ALL-LIVES-MATTER. I am 63 years old and have said for most of my life that there is only ONE race…the human race…and skin color should matter about as much as eye color and hair color. I would disagree with the commenter who said black lives are in peril. As the mother-in-law of a police officer—who is a wonderful, caring, Christian man who happens to be white… I take exception to the narrative that is promulgated in the media that nearly all shootings of blacks are by a nasty white person who shoots first and asks no questions later. Yes, there are police officers who are bigoted and who use unnecessary force…just as there are statistics which show/prove a disproportionate amount of murders and other high crimes are committed by blacks. You may not like that statistic but it is true. Let’s do 2 things…let’s work to change the reasons which are probably behind these statistics—by getting and keeping black fathers into the family unit, and by fixing an economy and mindset that keeps blacks poor and out of a job by a section of society that benefits in keeping their “power” by keeping them poor. And no—I’m NOT talking about rich, white, fat-cat Wall-Street types….I’m talking about “the left”—-I can’t bring myself to say Progressives because nothing in their agenda is truly progressive. I love your quilting and your feistiness….but I don’t think you would like me. I have unsubscribed but bear no malice, nor ill-feelings. Thank GOD, we still have the Constitutional right to agree speak our minds freely….cherish that….I see the First Amendment ready to be trashed.
Oh Kathy. Clearly you are not actually reading the post.
She did NOT say #whitelivesdonotmatter.
She did NOT say #allpolicearebigotedbrutes.
She DID say that some white folk behave as though people of color have no value. When video evidence bears this out, how can it be disputed? People of color are trying to be heard – so listen.
Sorry you did not get the point.
#white73andprogressive
I am with you . Love is! How can I make this my profile picture. Loved your shop and knew you all were genuinely good people.
Wow – just Wow! You have always entertained me but you have gained my respect with this post. Being a business owner and taking such a public stand is risky but it is the right thing to do. Hopefully you will gain more customers than you will lose from this post. Team Maddie! #SEWDIVERSITY
As always, Maddie, I say amen and amen. Your words always stir me and with the latest chain of events, even more so. I admire your persistence and insistence to stand up for what is right. If all the women of this world did the same, we could make the necessary changes. So, all females of this world, let’s band together and make it righteous.
I’ve got your 6. You have my full support.
Thank you so much for this!!!!
AWESOME POST!
I remember when Fisher Price made a black doll called Elizabeth, she came to live at our home and was a favorite of my daughter. We also had a blonde doll called Mandy a favorite of my other daughter. (We are very fair skinned with either red or brown hair in my family.) The dolls would play together. I was so happy to see the dolls arrive back in the mid 1970’s.
Thank you for your wonderfully well written piece. I stand with you.
Great post!
I stand with you. #sewdiversity #blacklivesmatter
I am with you on SewDiversity. Thanks for the conversation.
As an active African American quilter for more than 20 years, I’ve been an advocate with many others for more inclusion in publications, as faculty at major quilting events, etc. When I started challenging book and magazine editors back in the 1980’s and early 1990’s on why no African American quilters were in the major books/magazines being published, the answer I got was “Well, we just don’t know any….there aren’t any artquilters of color…there aren’t any heirloom quilters of color……blah…blah…blah…” I continued to challenge and make connections as did people like the wonderful and tireless Dr. Carolyn Mazloomi. I also urged my Sister Quilters to reach out and engage with other races/cultures in all areas of the quilt world and many of us do so with great joy and comfort. And not ALL African American quilters are ‘improvisational’ quilters–Gee’s Bend is only one aspect of our community. I learned a lot about heirloom precision piecing, hand quilting and machine quilting from the wonderful quilters in the African American Quilters of Baltimore.
The assumption that we don’t exist is changing a little but the perception is that our numbers are very, very small. So….one caveat. Just because you don’t see many African American Quilters at Events or in Guilds, doesn’t mean we don’t exist in the quilt world. There are millions of us in the quilting world, busy buying fabric, forming guilds, having shows, writing patterns, buying sewing machines, etc., etc. See the books by Kyra Hicks (available on Amazon) for lots of deets on our presence.
thank you Carole for your post. I have been to many national quilt shows and noticed the lack of diversity in attendance. I knew there had to be quilters out there of different colors. Thanks for pushing me harder to find their work and to consider as a vendor how we could be more inclusive.
Thanks! I will be looking for Kyra Deats’s books. I live in Wilmington, NC, and have been continually uneasy that our sewing world seems not to be very diverse at all. Yet our community has at least one African American fabric artist who does such stunning work that she was invited to include her work at an exhibit for President Obama’s first inauguration. What is up with us???? I think we might need to ask the question.
P.S. I just ordered two of KYRA HICKS’s books! (sorry I misread her last name the first time). I look forward to reading and getting ideas from them!
<3
#sewdiversity #ALLlivesmatter
Thank you for your eloquent comments. I’m with y’all! #SewDiversity
I am with you. But I’m not sure this was very clear on what it is we’re doing with this to make a difference…
Maddie I stand with you too. So many people are driven by hate and ignorance that I am overwhelmed with grief. I will do what ever I can to stand up for injustice when I see it. Thank you for a platform in which I can do that in some small way. #blacklivesmatter #Alllivesmatter#sewdiversity
Indeed, whether white, yellow, olive black or red, all lives matter. We also need to keep in mind that the lives of our men in blue, our nurses, our doctors, our servicemen… The list goes on. All Lives Matter. Thank you for sharing Maddie, you have not lost my support, life is precious and should be treated as such
I ❤️ You!!!!
In-freakin-deedy! Thanks Badass.
S. Ray
I wish the hashtag was #alllivesmatter. We will never be whole until everyone has value, no matter their race. #sewdiversity #alllivesmatter.
All lives matter yes but Black lives are in peril. Saying #blacklivesmatter doesn’t mean white lives do not anymore than saying #savethewhales means salmon don’t matter.
It’s a noble sentiment, and of course all lives matter – but right now, black lives are being disproportionately dismissed, abused and discarded. Think of it as “black lives matter too”. I found this helped clarify why it’s important right now to acknowledge the value of black lives – not above others, but rather, asserting that they’re included. http://fusion.net/story/170591/the-next-time-someone-says-all-lives-matter-show-them-these-5-paragraphs/
I knew I loved Spool for the products but now I love you even more! Thank you for being a light in an often dark world.
I stand with you
#sewdiversity #blacklivesmatter