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Activist ABC's | Bianca Mercado, 2017

Materials: Cotton, batiks,  
Techniques: Raw-edge appliqué, hand embroidered, machine quilted 
Finished Size: The ones with 4 letters are 20" by 83" and the ones with 5 letters are 20" by 99"


Artist Statement

Activist ABC’s was designed and created over the summer after being inspired by an SJSA workshop in Cambridge. In the process of designing, the goal was to have each letter of the alphabet represented in an illustratable way that related to social justice. The question of how to represent concepts of social justice were constantly negotiated: for example, “R” was initially going to stand for racism, but in the process of designing the actual block I had to question what racism looks like? Using past experiences as a person of color and paying close attention to the redlining in my own community, I attempted to understand how racism might be represented visually and clearly. Ultimately, I had to come to terms with the reality that some things cannot be seen or felt and the enormous task of adequately representing racism’s complexity was too large for one block. In the end the “R” block illustrated Rosa Parks and the bus boycotts that stood in direct resistance to the racist and unfair systems of oppression and disadvantage. The same process went for other ideas that I ultimately retired such as “Access to Free Healthcare”, “Equity”, “Justice” and “Gun Control”.
​

Upon completing the quilt and reflecting on the process, two incredible learnings rose to the surface. First, being unable to put a theoretical face to systems of oppression such as xenophobia, and mass incarceration, allowed me to recognize activists and ideas that perhaps would not have been otherwise acknowledged. This created space to highlight 13 year-old Zulaikha Patel who led a protest against her school system in response to their ban of natural hair in South Africa; colorism, the discrimination of those with darker skin tones; and the 4 year long, almost forgotten water crisis of Flint, Michigan. Allowing these ideas to be seen rather than more mainstream concepts, gives a chance for the viewer to learn about people and concepts that are not as well-known or do not have persistent media coverage. The second realization I had after completing the Activist ABC’s was that I’m incredibly appreciative of SJSA and the SJSA volunteers with whom the quilt would not have been made possible without. From the amazing fabric that was sent to me to the collaborative work with each embroiderer that amplified each of the block’s messages and to Nancy Williams for her expert creativity with long arm quilting in the final stage. I now recognize that the partnership with the Social Justice Sewing Academy and its volunteers have succeeded in finding that balance between activism, art, and community. 

Address

Social Justice Sewing Academy
​PO Box 2473 
​Antioch, CA 94531

Email

info@sjsacademy.com
  • HOME
  • Shop
  • ABOUT
    • THE MOVEMENT >
      • WHAT WE DO
      • TESTIMONIALS
      • OUR COMMUNITY QUILT PROCESS
    • MEET THE TEAM
    • BOARD OF DIRECTORS
    • SJSA AMBASSADORS >
      • Audrey Bernier
      • Bryan Robinson
      • Cecilia Charney
      • Kailah Foreman
      • Ann Guiam
      • Carina Cabriales
      • Chloe Gorski
      • Fia Carlone
      • Yohana Tecleab
  • GET INVOLVED
    • SUPPORT
    • EMBROIDER A BLOCK
    • HOST A WORKSHOP
  • GALLERY
    • WORKSHOPS >
      • Alliance Gertz-Ressler High School
      • Baltimore Polytechnic Institute
      • Stitch. Resist. Persist.
      • Cambridge Rindge and Latin
      • Girls Garage Workshop
      • Jefferson High School
      • Harvard: Threads of Resistance
      • Lakota Youth Speak
      • Obama Portrait Workshop
      • RAC x Latina Center Workshop
    • PROGRAMS >
      • SJSA Summer 2018 Ambassador Program
      • SUMMER INSTITUTE 2018
    • Quilts >
      • Activist ABC's
      • America the Beautiful
      • American Mayday
      • Art Behind Bars Volume I
      • Art Behind Bars Volume II
      • Berkeley SJSA Class of 2016
      • Black Queens
      • Blood, White and Blue
      • Blossom: Angela Davis
      • Community Quilts >
        • 2016 Community Quilts >
          • Better Together: An SJSA Community Quilt
          • Chi-Raq: An SJSA Community Quilt
          • Persist: A SJSA Community Quilt
          • Resistance: A SJSA Community Quilt
        • 2017 Community Quilts >
          • Freedom: A SJSA Community Quilt
          • Power: A SJSA Community Quilt
          • Pyramids of Social Justice
          • Hope: A SJSA Community Quilt
          • Justice: A SJSA Community Quilt
          • Woke Voices: A SJSA Community Quilt
        • 2018 Community Quilts >
          • Agency : A SJSA Community Quilt
          • Empowerment: A SJSA Community Quilt
          • Knowledge : A SJSA Community Quilt
          • Liberation: A SJSA Community Quilt
          • Peace: A SJSA Community Quilt
          • Revolution: A SJSA Community Quilt
      • Lakota Youth Speak
      • Rest in Power, Trayvon
      • Say Their Names
      • SJSA Summer Institute 2018 >
        • Exit Wound
        • As We Live and Breathe
        • Justice Denied
      • Twitter Tantrums
      • HERStory
    • EXHIBITIONS >
      • Current >
        • Richmond Art Center
        • Silicon Valley Community Foundation
      • Past >
        • Connecting Threads: SF Jewish Center
        • Pacific International Quilt Festival 2018 >
          • Threads of Truth Gallery Guide
        • Pick Museum at NIU
        • Mule Gallery >
          • Mule Gallery Guide
        • Museum of Design Atlanta
        • QuiltCon 2018
        • Ross Art Museum
        • San Jose Museum of Quilt & Textiles
        • Voices in Cloth
        • World Quilt Tampa 2019
  • PRESS
    • PODCASTS >
      • Crafty Planner Podcast
      • JCCSF Panel
      • Just Wanna Quilt - Colleen Haraden
      • Just Wanna Quilt - Nancy Williams
      • Just Wanna Quilt - Sara Trail
      • Law and Disorder Podcast
    • ARTICLES >
      • Britex Fabric
      • BTMB Magazine
      • Chicago Tribune
      • Craftivism Blog
      • Crafty Planner
      • Create Whimsy
      • Creativity Project
      • Harvard GSE
      • Huffington Post
      • Hyperallergic Article
      • Mercery News
      • Modern Patchwork
      • Quilt Trip
      • Quilting Art Magazine
      • Quilting as a Social Medium
      • Seriously Badass Women
      • Stonemountain and Daughter
      • Teen Vogue
      • Urban Plains
  • CONTACT
  • Resources