Join FORCE: Upsetting Rape Culture and the African American Quilters of Baltimore for a Monument Quilt workshop, where you will be invited to co-create quilts about the criminalization of black women who are survivors of abuse. In this workshop, Glenda Richardson and Rosalind Robinson will share appliqué techniques and discuss the history of AAQB. Shanti Flagg FORCE will provide a “teach-in” about the criminalization of women of color for self-defense, to help the collaborative group bring more awareness to the critical issue, and talk about the history of the Monument Quilt. 

The quilts created in this workshop will become part of the Monument Quilt, an on-going collection of stories from survivors of rape and abuse. Written, stitched, and painted onto red fabric, our stories literally blanket city and town centers to create and demand public space to heal. The quilt resists the popular and narrow narrative of how sexual violence occurs by telling many stories, not one, and it builds a new culture where survivors are publicly supported, rather than publicly shamed. Over 2500 stories from survivors have been collected to date. In a culminating display in Washington DC in Spring 2019, thousands of fabric squares will blanket over one mile of the national mall to spell “Not Alone.”

 The African American Quilters of Baltimore was founded in 1989 by three African American quilters seeking the community of other African American quilters. Their primary goal was to offer support and information for African American quilters in an environment of acceptance and welcome. Since that time, the group has grown in size and diversity and includes quilters of all skill levels, from beginners to professionals. In addition, its members participate in projects in schools, libraries and museums in keeping with our “Each One, Teach One” philosophy.