I Am Black History — “Sharing Sisterhood”

Photo Shoot of “Sharing Sisterhood” for Quiltfolk Magazine

Black History Month allows me to pause and reflect on my personal journey. Usually I am not a person who looks backward. I prefer to plot the way forward.

However, in the spirit of Black History Month and my acknowledgment that I am Black History, I am reflecting on one accomplishment at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. I was fortunate to be part of a group of amazing women who were on the charter line of my beloved sorority Delta Sigma Theta. It became the first black Greek sorority or fraternity on campus. And in the blink of an eye, it’s 50 years later! Not many people can say that something they began 50 years ago is still going strong.

Sharing Sisterhood exhibiting with other female artists.

So when I was challenged to make a quilt expressing how Congressman John Lewis and other civil rights leaders made my life better, I created Sharing Sisterhood. It has turned out to be my personal memory quilt from my college years.

Book cover

Sharing Sisterhood has exhibited at local quilt shows, but now she has eclipsed her other accomplishments. She is in the book Good Trouble Quilts — The Fight. The Progress. The Legacy. The book is available at atlantaquiltfestival.com, Amazon and BarnesandNoble.com. If you are a quilt lover, you want this book in your library!

Visiting Sharing Sisterhood during an exhibit.

As I said before, I Am Black History.

Sharing Sisterhood, 61 X 74 inch red and white memory quilt, by O.V. Brantley, 2023. Machine quilted by Maxine Moore. NFS.