At the start of this year, I was asked to write about the Social Justice Sewing Academy for the Craft Industry Alliance. You can check out the article here if you’re a member, as it shares more background and different photos. (And if you’re not a member, you should join!)
Abby Glassenberg kindly said I could share some of the quotes and photos I got from the founder, Sara, so here goes!
“The summer I got the grant, it was $25,000. UC Berkeley paid for it. So it’s a year-long public service project, where as long as you submit reports and you show that you spent the money appropriately they’ll give you $25,000 for a project. What kind of spurred it, was I was a mentor at Berkeley High School and working with the kids, you could kind of see how they would give me complaints, like at UC Berkeley they have Ethnic Studies, they have African-American Studies, they have Chicano, Latino, LGBT Studies, like UC Berkeley really gives you a holistic, a critical lens on how you view the world, on other people’s history, on the diaspora work, it just really gives you a holistic lens of American history.
And some of the kids were like, you know, in our history class we learn from African-American history starting at slavery, and I was like, you know, well before that there were kings and queens, I just like a lot of the like Paolo Friere, just I think Frierian methodology and more critical pedagogy like how to become a critical thinker and not just take whatever the teacher gives you as fact.”
At this point, Sara was tutoring kids and decided to bring in readings for them. She brought in readings about their own cultures and identities, so they could see themselves in the literature.
She had them write research papers on the material and came up with the idea of having an art show where they could show related work and therefore involve the community.
“I know initially when the boys were in my class and they were told, ‘Hey, you’re in Sara’s class,” and I said, “Hey, so it’s called Sewing Justice Sewing Academy and this is what we’re going to do.” “I don’t want to be in a sewing class, man.” I mean I had so much pushback, but it turns out the boys, they would come spend their lunches in the class just to work on their project, so I think initially after they got over the stigma, and I kind of framed it, “Like you guys don’t consider yourself seamstresses, consider yourself textile artists,” telling a boy that means all the difference.
Just the wording alone, but “And so you guys are going to be sewing, but consider yourself a textile artist, it’s not like I’m asking you guys to make a patchwork quilt. Consider learning What is a heavy duty sewing machine? For quality results. You guys are going to design and create your own social justice art quilt.” I think what matters, [is that you] use this art as a platform to share your voice, share your opinion, once they got their fabrics, everyone was super excited, there was a couple moments where I feel like kids were getting overwhelmed, ’cause I realized, some people made really detailed, detailed, patterns, and I’m telling them, you know every pattern you draw like that’s going to be something you’re going to have to cut out and pin… But ultimately everyone was so proud of their quilts – and the progress, other teachers would come and other students who weren’t in the Social Justice Sewing Academy they would come and say “Man, I wish I was in this class.”
Virginia Johnson’s project “You Belong Here” at her Cambridge, MA, shop, Gather Here is not just important, but given the current state of things here in the United States, it is imperative.
You can see more entries to the project on Instagram and read more about the project (with a quote from me too!) here.
1. What is your definition of craftivism?
Craft + activism = craftivism. Seriously. We are huge advocates for handcraft, working with your hands to create something tangible is a form of resistance in a world that so often focuses on consumption. And many people pickup crafting because they discover they are craving a means of expression that also will allow them to slow down and focus on the moment. They begin to create for others and in those acts make the greater a community a better place.
2. How did you come to collect stitched pieces that say You Belong Here? What moved you from idea to action?
Post-election Cambridge, Massachusetts was a pretty gloomy zip code. This is a place that really believes that women’s rights are human rights. That there is always room for refugees. That love is love. I was talking with a 9 year old girl a few weeks later and she was wearing a tshirt that said, “You Belong Here.”
Her mother had made it for their family post-election so that they could reassure the people in their neighborhood that they were important to the community. I got choked up listening to this young girl explain that just because leaders say hateful words doesn’t mean we need to accept them. That night I sketched out a large embroidery and patchwork banner that said “YOU BELONG HERE”.
When I woke up I knew I needed to ask the community to join me in this effort because it would be our combined voices that would drown out the hate. When I told the young girl about the project she hugged me and committed to making her own cross stitch version.
3. What has been the most surprising thing about the project?
I honestly thought it would be only interesting to our surrounding community. Like people who physically come in and visit the shop. I was surprised when I started seeing people who live all over the country posting photos of their works in progress on Instagram. And suddenly the signs began to come in the mail!
4. Is there anything you wish you would have done differently?
I wish I had thought to do an actual physical community event where people could work on their pieces together. I heard from many stitchers that they took on the project because they needed to create something positive. I think people really need to have places they can go to feel included and accepted. And working on such an inclusive message would have been great to do together.
5. What project(s) are you going to do next?
I’m currently collaborating with a letterpress artist to produce some inclusive message posters that we can share with other small businesses. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh gave an incredibly impassioned speech advocating for sanctuary cities. I was inspired and am committed to spreading the message of inclusiveness far and wide.
Next week I’ll be sharing Gather’s“You Belong Here” project, which is needed now more than ever. They’re accepting signs until next week, so get to it!
You can also read more about what Catherine has to say about the project over on Medium.
1. What is your definition of craftivism?
Craftivism is the call for social change through what are considered typical women’s mediums. Craftivism helps craftivists by providing a purposeful outlet for creative energies, which can be directed to increase awareness and encourage social and/or political change.
My Art Practice is primarily engaged in Hand Embroidery, and I saw a call last year asking for embroidered squares which were to be sewn together and held in front of the US Supreme Court in conjunction with the Court’s Ruling regarding the closing of Planned Parenthood Clinics in Texas. The project was spearheaded by Nguyen Chi (IG @whatchidid, whatchidid.com/) who was organizing in collaboration with TAC Brooklyn). As a Texan, I was embarrassed and angry about my State’s Policy, so I felt like I had to participate.  So, I made a square (the embroidered hash marks represent Texas women who would lose health services)
What a thrill it was to see my contribution held up in front of the Court!
While working on my square, I did what I always do when starting a new project: I asked YouTube and Netflix to tell me everything that they knew about the subject. I looked at many wonderful clips of videos and documentaries, and learned about the craftivist movement – I learned about Sarah Corbett (of the Craftivist Collective), and followed her internet rabbit trail, which led me to think about issues of social justice.
Because I had done a lot of research on the planned parenthood rulings, I looked up other issues affecting Texas women. I was already particularly concerned about the open carry law, which had just been enacted in Texas. I looked up some gun statistics in the state, and to my shock, I learned that (on average) just under one woman is killed by a domestic partner every day in the Lone Star State. Not all of those deaths are by gunshot, but many women are killed simply because there is easy access to a gun in the house.  The enacting of the Open Carry Legislation was likely to exacerbate this situation. (No Stats yet.)
I conceived and began embroidering the BLOWN AWAY project, hoping that I could get a solo show that would viscerally demonstrate what 277 (2013 statistics) dead women looked like. The project was to be made up of a series of interconnected panels (in the manner of the Bayeux Tapestry) that viewers could walk past and think about the mothers, sisters, daughters and grandmothers lost in a single year.
(The photos above are of an individual dress [representing one victim] and a series of panels [representing one month of women murdered  in Texas.)
 The project was not accepted anywhere.
 So I have dabbled a bit in craftivism; I guess I engage when I get mad enough about something and I don’t feel like any one is listening (a common complaint with our utterly deaf Texas politicians). Even if I haven’t concretely accomplished anything in participating in any craftivist act, I feel better, because at least I am doing something!
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2. What is Hide a Hat and Fight Back?
I was very excited about the Women’s March on Washington, and thrilled when I learned that there would be a march in nearby Austin, as well. Scrolling through social media to find more information, I happened upon a call for the Pussyhat Project, asking for hats to be made for Washington marchers.Â
Yarn was immediately purchased. The furious clacking on knitting needles every evening (as my husband and I both ate through miles of pink yarn) got us through the next few weeks, and we found that the knitting relaxed us and gave us a tangible sense of purpose.Â
I got the idea for the Hide a Hat and Fight Back project when we got home on that Saturday night and there was nothing craftivist left to knit. My hands were itching for something useful to do, and I figured that there were other knitters staring at empty needles just like me. In times of trouble my Auntie Ro always said “The cure for anxiety is action!,†so I created an excuse for craftivists to keep knitting as a way of relieving political anxiety.
The tiny hat project in a nutshell:
(couldn’t help myself!)
Craftivists are asked to knit, crochet, sew, glue, etc. tiny (fingertip sized ) pink pussy hats. Once completed, the hats will be attached to a printed or hand written card, and the craftivists will document them on social media, then “hide†the cards wherever they want – in a dressing or ladies room, on a public bulletin board, in a taxi or on a bus seat, etc. Of course, they can also be given directly, or mailed to a legislator, or whatever method of distribution the maker favors. Â
The cards will invite finders to post their finds on social media, and will encourage continued political engagement. Finders will be encouraged to join the movement when they post.
3. Why hide them?
Living in a rural community in Texas, everyone almost always assumes I am a conservative. I’m a Lutheran. I sing in my church choir. My kids got good grades, so people make assumptions, thinking that I believe what they believe. Of course I have liberal friends, but we lone star liberal ladies have learned that it is not a good idea to get in a shouting match in an open carry state. We keep a low profile. I know the liberals in my own circle, but I don’t know who the hidden liberals are.Â
The march sort of changed that. I was with 50,000 proudly progressive women, men and children, and we were in the middle of Texas!  I finally found my tribe, and it was thrilling! I had never been in a room with more than 50 Democrats, and, while marching with so many,  I have never had such an overwhelming experience of community.Â
As I was conceiving what the project would be, I knew that it should reach out to my fellow progressives, particularly those living in deep red states. I wanted to remind them (after the news of the march dies down and the hard work begins) that they are NOT alone, and we stand and resist together.  I wanted to give them the thrill of community I felt in Austin. But unless I personally know them,  I don’t have any way to do that in an open way where I live. I took a huge risk just putting up my Hillary yard sign, and I learned to quickly take off or hide my Hillary pin when going into certain restaurants or when running into one of my husband’s clients. The project was my way to keep reminding progressives that, even though we are a shy people, there are a lot of us!
I am acutely aware that Trumpians will likely be offended to find the hats and may be unpleasant in their responses. Inviting that negative energy into my life gave me pause to almost abandon the project, but then I thought it through: If you go through life extremely confident that everyone around you thinks in exactly the same way that you do, it would certainly get your attention if you suddenly and unexpectedly encountered physical evidence that they do not. A few encounters might be easy to dismiss, but what if you saw a dozen or dozens or even one hundred of these things? Your unshakeable belief that you are in an unbeatable majority might start to waver. Many Democrats in my state don’t bother voting because they feel it is hopeless – what if this project flipped that script?
Also, finding something cool is fun!
4. Why tiny hats and not bigger ones?
Because tiny hats are adorable. They can be pinned to your blouse, or hung from your rear view mirror. They can be thrown in a jewelry box or stuffed into your makeup drawer as a daily reminder that the fight isn’t over. They fit on the end of your pencil, or can be slipped on a finger and waved. The kids will want to use them to punctuate when they flip the bird. They don’t have to fit a real head, so fitting issues are not issues. Tiny hats can be made very quickly, so a lot of them can be distributed in a short amount of time.  They can fit in a craftivist’s purse or pocket, in case of travel into  an unfriendly area. They can be made while waiting in a school pick up line, or while sitting at the doctor’s office, or while on public transit. Big balls of yarn and needles are not required, as travel equipment is purse sized. Tiny hats are a symbol of the larger hats, and, in turn, a symbol, a reminder, a requerdo of the larger movement. And did I mention that they are adorable? That said, if people want to make bigger hats, then make bigger hats. If they want to make tinier hats, then God Bless them, and I wish I could see as well as they do. The project is my gift to the community; what they do with that gift is up to them.
5. What is your goal for this project?
Right now, I just want to get the word out and get people mobilized, activated and engaged with the curative power of having something to do. I want them to fill out the urgently needed political postcards, make the calls, and engage in the post march call to action, but I want them to also be able to do something where their focus shifts to the non thinking headspace of:  “needle behind, loop forward, correct tension, transfer the stitch, repeat.â€Â I want them to be able to turn their mind off and on through a radical act of crafting. Selfishly, I want to see what they make. Already I have been sent sketches, suggestions and sighs of relief. That was my biggest thrill today.Â
The secondary goal is:
What’s the reaction? I have no idea if I have opened (as we say in Texas) a big can of whoop ass on myself. If I have, then at least I have taken a stand. Texas women used to do that, and I know a lot of us still carry that gene. I want people to post about how they found their tiny hats and how it made them feel. Did the hat meet them on a bad day? Did the hat bring them hope? Will Fox News be quoted? Will Steve Bannon curse?
Like with my two boys just a few years ago, my job is to send the project out into the world. What happens next is my concern, but it is not anything I really have control over. That’s the risky part of Art Making.
 What is my dream result?
World Peace. A Single Payer Health Care System. Reversal of Climate Change. A well supported public education system that continues through a Bachelor’s degree. A legislature that is consistently 50 percent female.  The abolition of gerrymandering and Citizen’s United. A complete rethink of the electoral college. Passage of the ERA.  Justice for All regardless of skin color or ethnicity.  A modern energy system that is not dependent on oil. Equal Pay. An end to income inequality. An engaged and factually informed electorate. The Right to Marry and the Right to Choose. Well funded arts programs. A basic income for all. Yada Yada Yada. I would settle, though, for a progressive legislature and a President Warren.
A Hide a Hat and Fight Back call to arms.
Sewing together a tiny hat using a wooden spoon as a form.
Two tiny hats ready to go on cards.
A suggestion for writing Hide a Hat and Fight Back cards.
With my husband (in the hat he knitted) at the ATX march. And yes, I gave my heavy wool hat away for someone else to wear. It was 80 degrees, the sun was beating down on my menopausal head, so, a radical among radicals, I wore my back up summer headband and ears on my freshly blued hair.
Today means being outside of the bubble of this weekend, back to a world where the White House press secretary stood in front of journalists and openly lied. Where do we go from here?
I say we take our pussyhats and wear them. So that when we’re out and about and we see someone else wearing one, too, we know we’re not alone. A signifier of a world where kindness triumphs over anger and empathy beats rage.
