American Legacy | Created by Deborah A. Moore Harris from Helotes, TX.

American Legacy

Created by:

Deborah A. Moore Harris from Helotes, TX

Exhibit:

Racism: In the Face of Hate We Resist

Artist Statement:

This quilt is a material reflection of our American Legacy. The upright words, American and Legacy, portray how America is advertised – national pride, freedom, homage to the flag, treating all Americans equally. The reflected words, American and Legacy, portray a different America – an America experienced by citizens terrorized, brutalized, or killed at the hands of authorities in events such as the 1921 destruction of Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Greenwood District, to the death of George Floyd in 2020.

The words of the quilt, stitched into fabric over the words of the Constitution, represent these concepts. The black reflection of “American” stands for Black people of all ages, known and unknown, who were brutalized or killed without justification. The red reflection of “Legacy” is the blood spilled by Americans tortured or killed because of the color of their skin, or who they dared to support. Their only legacy is loss of life due to America’s judicial system.

America – “home of the free … because of the brave.” Police are sworn to protect and serve, but do they protect and serve all equally? Current events have yet again shed light and personalized the reality that we live in two Americas. If you live in America, you have the right walk down the street without being challenged and are presumed innocent. But in that same America, Black parents must have the “Talk,” because Black children can be subjected to heightened scrutiny, are presumed to be a threat, and are exposed to deadly force at the hands of the police. The Fourth of July has been celebrated as Independence Day since 1777, but we, as Black Americans, could not celebrate as free men and women until June 19, 1865. Jim Crow laws and Black Codes, enforced by the police and upheld by the judicial system, kept ALL of us from being free. This discontinuity, between what America proclaims and aspires to be, and the America that is experienced by the least of its citizens, has its roots in the founding of our nation, and is the American Legacy.

2020
47" x 46"
Commercial cotton, cotton batting; machine appliqué and machine quilted.