Martin Luther King Quilt Exchange

 I was a senior in college April 4, 1968 at SIU Carbondale when Mama called to tell me that Dr. King was dead. She said "this city is in a state of turmoil, we cannot go out of the house because there is a lot of trouble in the streets". Most people know Dr. King was killed in Memphis but many want to know why and what was he doing in Memphis the night he was killed. He was here for the 1,300 sanitation workers who wanted to organize a union.

I hosted a Black History quilt challenge honoring Dr. King during Black History Month in 2004. Yahoo African American quilt group members Debra Cole, Toya Charles, Regina Wade, Carrie Davis,  Laronia Oliver, Pataricia Gainor, and Rosalyn Jones  joined the exchange and made blocks for each member. Each block in the quilt reveals its own story about Dr. King's life. The most moving message the "King's Crown" block (upper left)  is printed on fabric and reads "to ignore evil is to become an accomplice to it". Another block (bottom right) called Courthouse House Steps" commemorates  Dr. Kings non violent work in Birmingham.  I designed the layout and pieced the top. The quilt top was quilted by Carol Williams of "Quilts and Sew On" website with the same name.

In observance of Dr. King's holiday "make it a day on, not a day off  by serving your community".

Peace, Love, and Art
Angela