SGGL Spotlight: Trails, Tracks, Tarmac: African American Narrative Quilts from Anne Arundel County, Maryland

Based upon the November 2006-07 Banneker-Douglass Museum exhibit, Trails, Tracks, Tarmac: African American Narrative Quilts from Anne Arundel County, Maryland presents detailed photographs of twenty-five documentary quilts created by African American communities throughout Anne Arundel County. Reflecting their rich and vibrant history, the quilts display the stories of local African American societies, from 1850 to the present. Subjects range from entire communities to the details of a single church or family.

Published by the Northern Arundel Cultural Preservation Society (NACPS), this book presents images and histories of these quilts. Created using a process dubbed “quilting from the soul” the stories are depicted through beads, photo transfers, bright colors, words, and images. The color photographs allow each quilt to speak for itself, demonstrating the new and innovative quilting techniques being used to depict the stories of African American communities. By crafting together recollections of childhood, school pride, church activities and sporting events, these quilts give an intimate account of the African American communities of Anne Arundel County.

Separated into eight sections, each highlighting a different aspect of Anne Arundel County, every quilt is accompanied by a short paragraph describing the history and significance of its story. Included is a foreword by attorney William Dawkins and introductory writings by Isabel Shipley Cunningham, author-historian; Dr. Leslie King-Hammond, Graduate Dean at Maryland Institute College of Art; and Dr. Joan M.E. Gaither, fiber artist and principal quilter. The book also offers a poem titled “‘Twas Quilting Time” by Joyce Carroll Sias and an epilogue by Edward C. Sewell, an NACPS member.

Available for viewing at the Sylvia Gaither Garrison Library. For purchasing information please contact NACPS president Betty Mack at: BDelta[at]verizon.net.

Photo Source:
Trails, Tracks, Tarmac: African American Narrative Quilts from Anne Arundel County, Maryland. Northern Arundel Cultural Preservation Society, Inc., 2007.

32 pages
Includes photographs and map of Anne Arundel County
Review by J. Caity Swanson, Hodson Intern