For the Science March on April 22, Heidi Arjes, a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University, designed the resistor knit hat, which shows a battery and three electronical devices called resistors. I was excited to write about it. She currently attends Twin Cities Meeting in Saint Paul, Minn. Get free news and updates from Friends Journal and our QuakerSpeak video series. Christianity. In less than two centuries, it was outlawed atleast in Britain and its colonies and no longer thought of as moral or ethical. Your article brought up some interesting connections and offered a good read to anyone with an interest in the topic. This letter went into more detail about the problems facing enslaved Christians: The White planters beat and injure us when [we learn] about the Savior, they wrote. 1996 - 2023 NewsHour Productions LLC. They met at one another's houses for lunch, conversation and. Many slaves came to faith in Jesus because it is Truth and they were drawn to that Truth; others many have come with a selfish intent in the hopes that they would be freed. This is an uncomfortable past, but its a past that needs to be brought into the light. Advertising Notice Thank-you so much for this article, so well written, and researched! But when he and an Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) agent staked out the location, Kim saw bags filled with garments being loaded onto trucks. Instead, he did something else: He urged Friends to worship with the enslaved people in their households and to introduce them to Quakerism. Victoria and Albert Museum National Society Daughters of the American Revolution. The exhibition looked at the history of sweatshops in the United States through 100 objects like sewing machines and photographs of the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, which killed 146 garment workers. , I wanted to understand this abolitionist history better. How did they justify slavery within their theological worldview? I wanted to show how something as important as abolition had a history, and how we could learn about social justice by studying the past. Chris DeSimio But as I quickly learned, this was only part of the story when it comes to Quakers and slavery. Quakers have long been hailed as heroes of the abolitionist movement. Bring your own needle- or repair work! As a result, they excluded most enslaved people from Protestant churches. During their gatherings they allow needlework and studying to become completely intertwined. She has a wikipedia article and her husband THOMAS has an Oxford Dictionary of National Biography article which is mostly about her. March 2018, All Rotchana Cheunchujit was in bed when it happened. Civilization. As the following document suggests, women's efforts were varied. Protestant supremacy, I came to understand, was the forerunner of White supremacy. A group of Asian American activists demanded their release, then bailed them out. The exhibition itself provoked controversyit prompted pushback from the California Fashion Association and other groups as well as a number of members of Congress who worried that its exploration of modern-day sweatshops could shed negative light on the garment industry. This sequence of events is puzzling. History of Sweatshops: 1820-1880 Impoverished seamstresses were familiar figures in early-19th-century American cities, filling the needs of an expanding garment industry. I knew that Friends held slaves, but I did not know the depth of it. The sewing circle had direct contacts with the Underground Railroad's quiet heroes, including Catherine "Kitty" Doram, who escaped from the slave state of Kentucky to Ohio at the age of twelve, arriving in Cincinnati with thirty-six cents to her name. February 2023 In some cases, missionaries taught enslaved people to read the Bible and to write. And most significantly, the concept of Whiteness had not yet been created. The Sewing Circle (In Dutch: De Naaikrans), organized by the Feminist Needlework Party in collaboration with Atria, is a seminar, spa experience and sewing circle all rolled into. These became the questions that fueled my research. During this era, Womens role as buyer of the family goods became pivotal in colonial resistance. Seventeenth-century Quakers, I came to understand, were radical but not because they were abolitionists. Things could have developed differently. In defiance of British taxes on textiles and other products, women in the colonies eschewed British-made clothing by creating homespun cloth. Then she heard the axe. Thank you for your article. Increased enforcement of immigration laws gave sweatshop managers added ammunition with which to threaten vulnerable workers. And during the movement for abolition, sewing circles continued to serve as a place for women to exchange ideas and talk about political work. This site presents new acquisitions, events, notable holdings, and other information from the Graphic Arts Collection within the department of Special Collections. She received five to seven cents per garmentabout $300 to $500 a month. I realized that I needed to tell this story. How are colonial structures still woven into todays textile production? Facing the slavery roots of the U.S. prison system. In other words, we need to acknowledge that individuals made decisions that led to Protestant supremacy and to White supremacy. If we dont recognize this history, we risk repeating the injustices of the past. When Pennsylvania was founded in 1682, William Penn and others used their Quaker connections in Barbados to purchase enslaved Africans. He too, was a Quaker. As history, not political debate, the show smoothly tells what is a complex, open-ended social and business story,, Chanchanit Martorell, Executive Director, Thai Community Development Center, Between a Rock and a Hard Place: A History of American Sweatshops, 1820-Present, Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000. Lets see if she delves into issues concerning the Quakers taking of Native lands under pretense of affording them homage. November 2021 One of them was California deputy labor commissioner T.K. For those of us who identify with the Quaker traditionas I dothis history invites us to think about what it really means to combat oppression. Its quite fascinating. But you, Ms Gerbner, teased it out of the records. Thank you for this short, touching article. But knitters, particularly those critical of President Donald Trumps administration, say they see a resurgence in peoples interest in knitting as a political tool in recent months, particularly around the Womens March with the creation of pussyhats, and again before the Science March. It declares, among other things, that the authors are against the traffick of men-body. It goes on to explain that slavery cannot be a Christian practice and that it is against the Golden Rule. In her artistic-journalistic projects she investigates themes kaleidoscopically: artistic, social, scientific, philosophical and spiritual. She serves on the advisory board for VIDA: Women in Literary Arts. He had become convinced at a meeting held by George Fox when he was in Barbados in 1671 which he attended with Lewis Morris, his neighbor, a Quaker. It is a document that Quakers. The sewing videos listed here are full of helpful sewing tips, techniques, and sewing project ideas. We must be critically engaged with the past to understand the influence it continues to exert in the present. In The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle, women come together during the WW11 years to mend, repurpose, and recycle clothing. According to the legend, she deviated from the 6-pointed stars in the design and produced a flag with 5-pointed . Its not enough to have good intentions. . I had contacted a woman who works for the Dartmouth Preservation Group after she had written a blog that described a book recently written by Kathryn Grover. Healthys Black Community, The Underground Railroad was One of Americas First Co-ops, Cincinnatis sewing response echoes history. Weve already seen how Protestant supremacy was challenged. Barbados was the most important English colony in the seventeenth century. 159 were here. There, he became deeply concerned about the practice of slavery but not for the reasons we might hope. It was out of this that the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade begun. Shop. Additionally, a repair technique will be demonstrated. But it's not surprising, this does require a person take at least 10 minutes to focus and pay attention, as opposed to a picture which requires 10 seconds and an agreement with OP. That that other person is a human, equal in Gods sight to ourselves, is therefore a hard thing to accept. Women played a major role in the abolitionist movement and formed sewing circles where objects decorated with abolitionist emblems were produced, either for sale or to decorate their homes. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Scholar Bernard A. Cook wrote that at the time, the right for women to bear arms was seen as an insult to the physical superiority and fashionable difference between men and women, because armed women, for reasons of comfort and gender subversion, often dressed like men and wore male symbols, such as the red cap of liberty.. That didnt seem to make any sense.. Zahniser and Amelia R. Fry wrote in Alice Paul: Claiming Power., The image projected a non-threatening stance by suffragists, Sapelly said. How has needlework contributed to community building in different parts of the world? I read through all of the laws passed on the island of Barbados in the seventeenth and early-eighteenth centuries. The first line reads: Quakers accept slavery in this period? Slave patrolsbasically militias of free white menwere created to oversee and enforce the slave codes. February 2020 Sewing circle participants, usually women, typically meet regularly for the purpose of sewing. Instead of reading Quaker abolition back in time, I thought it was important to understand how these slaveholding Quakers fit into their own time. July 2021 All are now young adults. He forseen war over slavery was near & decided to move the family, which was smart on his part. Though she dreamed of the sweatshop for years after her release, she says shes moved on. In the 1670s, it was called the Nursery of Truth because it was so filled with Quakers. It included a recreation of the inside of the El Monte sweatshop. The instructions are for intermediate to advanced . Click here for an overview of all the episodes. I have been researching a group that went into Virginia and had early Quaker roots but may not have been practicing it formally. Come back often - new sewing videos are added to this page every week! And during the movement for abolition, sewing circles continued to serve as a place for women to exchange ideas and talk about political work. Online, a number of groups including The Resistance Knitters and a March for Science crafting group on Facebook are encouraging people to use their work for political causes. As for the hallmark discovery in 2005, The Circle of Ancient Iranian Studies reported that the discovery of the tiny mummy followed two months of illegal excavations in the historical fortress of Gudiz in Kerman province near Shahdad city, which dates back to time of the Sassanid Empire (224 to 651 AD), the last Iranian empire before the rise . Here is a link to that article: https://www.pbs.org/wnet/african-americans-many-rivers-to-cross/history/who-led-the-1st-back-to-africa-effort/, This essay reminds me of our complicated heritage. While them being Quakers & owning slaves perplexed me, I realized they still made the right decision when it wasnt popular. Whats even more perplexing however, is her brother (my x4 Great-Uncle) the Governor of North Carolina Jonathan Worth, 1865-1868. Our histories need to keep those two facts in balance, and especially not allow the oppressive regime of Protestant supremacy to desensitize people to the experiences of enslaved and free Black Christians. The first line reads: We having inspected ye matter, above mentioned, and considered of it, we find it so weighty that we think it not expedient for us to meddle with it here. (US Supreme Court later declared that Indigenous people had lost rights on discovery as if they had been conquered in a just war) Clarkson and others carried on the fight to end slavery itself. It was in response to free Black Christians like Charles Cuffee that English slaveholders began to create White supremacy. Learn more about Friends of the NewsHour. One of these individuals was named Charles Cuffee. She also famously said, "I am at heart a gentleman . Many (most?) Friends like Anthony Benezet and John Woolman worked tirelessly to convince other Whites to abolish slavery and embrace liberty for all. A lot of times what were talking about is really traumatic, she said. This Sewing Circle is a special English edition. At the timeI was surprised to learnslavery was accepted and common among the English Quakers who were in political control of Pennsylvania. We didnt know what was going on. Hours later, Cheunchujit would be taken to jail. Youre entitled to minimum wage, youre entitled to be free, and to have the labor laws apply to you no matter your status. He remains in awe of the victims courage. October 2019 The 2005 Wombs on Washington project rallied people to create knitted wombs to support pro-choice legislation, and two years later, the Stitch for Senate initiative called on people to knit helmet liners for U.S. senators to call for withdrawal from Iraq. Other episodes take place on the 3rd and 24th of February, the 17th of March, and the 7th and 28th of April. The crucial point has to do with the reaction of other colonists on Barbados. It makes sense, then, that needle arts would be an important means of expression and that includes political expression.. On August 2, 1995, federal agents, aided by local police, state officials and the Thai Community Development Center, raided the Los Angeles-area complex. Just prior to the Civil War in 1860, my Quaker x3 Great-Grandparents William & Louisa Worth-Clark migrated w/their 12 children from (soon to be Confederate) Guilford, North Carolina to Economy, Indiana (my family was there until 2003). April 2021 As I looked closer at the 1688 Protest, however, I became less interested in the petition itself than in the last linea line that was added not by the authors of the Germantown protest, but by the Quakers who represented Abington (Dublin) Meeting and Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. These circles were most prominent from . Investigators found intercepted letters from the workers and their Thai families. Nicholas Andreadis Women also used needlework to create uniforms for soldiers during the Revolution, though some found unexpected uses for the craft. I teach in North Carolina, History among several things. January 2019 As I began to investigate this issue further, I looked beyond the Quaker records to the archives of Protestant denominations: members of the Church of England (Anglicans) as well as other smaller denominations, like the Moravian Church. Twelve years later, lawmakers refined their definition of Whiteness further. Comments on Friendsjournal.org may be used in the Forum of the print magazine and may be edited for length and clarity. As a shell-shocked Sussman and the other workerswho spoke no English and had almost no idea what was outside the sweatshoptried to adjust to their new lives, the scope of their exploitation slowly became clear. In 1676 the Governor of Barbados imposed fines on Quakers who allowed slaves to attend their meetings. At this time, you will also receive the link for the online Zoom- environment. For seven years, most of her programs focused on (female) sexuality and the connection with our body. June 2020 Taylor Payne of the Yarn Mission, a knitting collective. In many ways, this is disappointing. Well still probably be sitting quietly in the sewing room and doing our needlework., The Riot Grrrl feminist punk movement of the 1990s brought new political significance to DIY culture, encouraging feminists and others to take up crafting in order to resist corporations. That Lay was as disappointed in Philadelphias slave-owning Friends as he had been in Barbadian Friends, becomes clearer also. Quaker ladies as mentioned Two Quaker missionaries, named Ann Austin and Mary Fisher, landed on the island in 1655 and successfully converted onto Massachusetts in 1657. Experiences that are bound by time and place are translated into patterns, colors and . As Pennsylvanias social and economic structure developed, ties with the West Indies and other trade outlets flourished. as a religion for free people, and they worried that a baptized slave would demand freedom and possibly rebel. A Quaker-led, small summer camp in southern WI with an emphasis on simple living and connecting with nature.. At the time, no visas were provided for victims of crimes, and on the day of the raid, the workers were taken into custody by immigration officials. Alice Paul is shown seated, sewing stars on a suffrage flag. Having said that, my understanding is that as time went on, fewer Quakers supported slavery, which led to them feeling uncomfortable here in pre-Civil-War North Carolina, and led to their migration. Quite successful, apparently, in Delaware and in Chester County. Academics and historians say that these new knitters are tapping into a long history of needle arts in the U.S. that is inextricably bound up in race, gender and class issues. Within a year, a Friend named Ralph Fretwell was prosecuted for 80 [enslaved people] being present at a Meeting in his House, and Richard Sutton was taken to court for 30 [enslaved people] being present at a Meeting.. When I first read this I could not understand why this was so. But in each case, it was challenged differently. A friend in a neighboring town recently said to us, 'Our Sewing Circle is doing finely, and contributes very much to keep up the agitation of the subject. Non-Christian peoples did not possess the human and natural law rights as Christians. According to Barbadian law at the time, he would be eligible to vote in elections and, at least hypothetically, run for office if he could acquire enough property. Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window). There is a very strong indication that the family held not only at least one African enslaved person, but also a Native American enslaved person when they were attacked. The Sewing Circle (In Dutch: De Naaikrans), organized by the Feminist Needlework Party in collaboration with Atria, is a seminar, spa experience and sewing circle all rolled into. People work really hard and they are dying to work. he says. I had more questions: What did it mean that slavery had so General a Relation to many other P[a]rts? What other parts were they talking about? As I did so, I realized there were some intriguing similarities in their experiences. I cant say anything. Some of her fellow workers had been locked up for seven years. 19:20Walk-in (online) Recent marches such as the Womens March on Jan. 21 and the March for Science on Saturday have brought knitting into the international spotlight and lured newcomers to a symbol of activism that dates back hundreds of years. Although this introduction names only Fox and his contemporaries, you know well the work of numerous subsequent Quakers, as Benjamin Lay, John Woolman, and Elihu Coleman. Its also important to think about the many different meanings that religion had in slave societies. nts, Marmaduke Cooperof the founding Cooper family of Camdenowned slaves in the 1780s and was read out of meeting when he refused to sell them. February 2021 It was obvious the complex was carefully guarded. Its a very large collection, he says of the El Monte archive of more than 200 objects including photos, forged passports and an entire sewing machine workstation. A friend in a neighboring town recently said to us, Our Sewing Circle is doing finely, and contributes very much to keep up the agitation of the subject. It was surrounded by a high fence, and an additional razor-wire enclosure faced the apartment buildings that served as workplace, home and jail. Their other brother, John Milton Worth, was a Colonel of the Confederate 76th Regiment (6th senior), in charge of chasing down defectors/draft evaders no less. Pleasant (Mt.