Powerful, Beautiful, Brave

“There is a silent sorrow here; A grief we seldom impart; It breathes no sigh, it sheds no tear, but it can consume the heart.”

A strong black woman. This badge may be true, but I’d rather focus on the power, beauty and bravery it takes to be in this skin. Why is she crying’? It’s the primary question I get about this quilt. When I made this for an exhibition in summer of 2018 I was thinking about the many reasons we as black women cry – its been the same for centuries and unfortunately many of those injustices prevail today. The senseless deaths of our children. The injustices prone to our men. And when we get a moment, IF we get/take a moment, we might cry for ourselves. But we keep our chin up, look forward and get it done…anyway. And just because you may not see the tears. Trust me, they are there. They are there.