This piece was inspired by a documentary I watched about the quilters of Gees Bend, Alabama on PBS.  The ladies in this region began quilting many years ago in a style that they passed down to the next generation.  As I began searching for papers to illustrate the story I wanted to tell, I came across some pages of an old hymn book and knew that she must hold these words within her bosom,  just as the ladies of Gees Bend sang from their hearts as they quilted together on a front porch.  During my search, I began reading an article about a journalist who picked up shards of stain glass that had been blown out from the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in 1963. I knew the photos of the shards would become some of the quilt pieces.  Southern states, pictures of hardworking women, bright geometric shapes, and a recipe for sweet potato pie, are sewn together in honor of the African American women who toiled, suffered, loved and lost but created masterpieces from what others would have thrown away.  In the words of Maya Angelou, "When you learn, teach, when you get, give, As for me, I shall not be moved….She muttered, lifting her head a nod toward freedom, I shall not, I shall not be moved."