I was inspired to create this quilt, "America at the Crossroads," during the course of the 2008 presidential campaign. The purportedly "improbable" candidacy of Barack Hussein Obama demanded intro/retrospection about American's perennial challenge to reconcile the competing imperatives of race, gender, religion class,nationality and sexually identity as we struggle to realize the vision of "A more perfect union." The quilt celebrates the intersecting social and political movements that have enabled the election of Senator Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States of America.
As I engaged in debating, donating, campaigning and finally, protecting the vote on Election Day, it became apparent to me that America was at a crucial crossroads and we needed a wise and audacious interpreter/mediator to negotiate the crossing. Barack Obama, who is black and white, insider and outsider, native and other, acknowledged our stories, explained our fears and inspired us to make a united leap of faith into a future where we become the change we have been waiting for. The central Ghanaian adinkra symbol of the intertwined crocodiles, signifying unity in diversity, defines the borders of the quilt and emblematizes the possibility of regeneration of America in the 21st century.
Donnette Cooper, December 2008
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