The Jule Museum at Auburn University Presents

Museum in Motion: Sew Their Names

The Jule Museum at Auburn University, in partnership with Project Threadways, Florence Arts and Museums and the Mt. Willing Quilters of Lowndes County Community Life Center, presents Sew Their Names, an exhibition and community art project dedicated to commemorating the names and legacies of enslaved members of antebellum Baptist churches in Alabama.

Sew Their Names Exhibition: April 8-April 26, 2025

Southall at the Kennedy-Douglass Center for the Arts

209 East Tuscaloosa Street

Florence, Alabama 35630

Open Monday-Friday 9:00-4:00; Sunday 1:00-4:00

Free Admission

The Sew Their Names exhibition features commemorative quilts made by Southern quiltmakers, Wini McQueen, Yvonne Wells, Charlie Lucas and Mercedes Braxton alongside historical information about the antebellum Hopewell Church in Lowndes County. Additionally, the Mt. Willing Quilters will host a free workshop where community members can contribute to the project through continuing to help stitch the names of enslaved people whose names are listed in the archives of Samford University or connected to their own family history.

Sew Their Names Workshop: Friday, April 25, 5:00-6:30pm

Free and Open to the Public

Join the Mt. Willing Quilters of Lowndes County Community Life Center and learn about their commemorative art project and exhibition, Sew Their Names. Through storytelling, song and sewing, quilters from Mt. Willing will share their history and lead participants through a workshop to help stitch the names of enslaved people across Alabama. No experience necessary; free and open to the public.

About Sew Their Names: The history of Sew Their Names stems from Hopewell Church, an antebellum Baptist church that was constructed in the 1840s in Mt. Willing, Alabama and the entwined histories of Black and White descendants. In particular, the exhibition tells the story of a group of Black quilters, who, in the wake of the activism spurred by the death of George Floyd in 2020, began stitching the names of enslaved persons found in the archives of the Alabama Baptist Church at Samford University. This simple act has now turned into a larger exhibition and community art project to commemorate the erased and forgotten lives of enslaved people across the state of Alabama.

About Museum in Motion: As part of Auburn University’s mission as a public land-grant institution to improve the lives of the people of Alabama, Museum in Motion is a community outreach initiative from The Jule Museum that connects and builds community through arts-centered exhibitions, programming and educational engagement.

Museum in Motion partners with communities and organizations across the state of Alabama to elevate the artistry and culture of Alabama, build vital social connections and increase access to the arts. Initially conceived as part of a Tiger Giving Day initiative in 2020, Museum in Motion has

grown to include pop-up engagements at farmers’ markets and festivals, long-term engagements with regional partners and community-focused exhibitions. Find out more here: https://jcsm.auburn.edu/museum-in-motion/