By Reginald Allen | The Birmingham Times
Create Birmingham, in partnership with the Jefferson County Memorial Project (JCMP), Bib & Tucker Sew-Op, The Black Cherry Tree Project, and the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute (BCRI), on Saturday, October 18 host Bound Together: Day of Community at the BCRI.
The event marked the culmination of the Jefferson County Memorial Quilt, a community-based initiative honoring the 33 African Americans who were lynched in Jefferson County between the mid-19th and mid-20th centuries. Through art, education, and collaboration, the project promotes dialogue, remembrance, and reconciliation.
“This history is really important to preserve, making sure that we’re honoring these people who have had their lives tragically lost,” said Carey Fountain, Co-Founder of Black Cherry Tree Project, on the importance of events like this. “History repeats itself if you let it. It’s important to preserve these and art is a powerful way to capture that history and continue the conversation forward.”
Said attendee Wilhelmina Thomas: “The importance of today’s event is about how textiles preserve history. It shows joy and resilience within the Black community and how we can use that as a way to teach history going forward”
The day also featured live performances, art-making, a panel discussion, local organization tabling and free admission to BCRI.
“Just telling the story of so many of us that was not told” is important, said Edmond “Barry” Johnson, founder of the Sahi On Ko Djony West African Cultural Enrichment Program. “It’s this community being bound together … for healing and for education and for enlightenment,”
