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ABOUT USFounded in 2016, the Social Justice Sewing Academy (SJSA) is an art program that bridges artistic expression with activism and empowers youth to amplify their voice through art that advocates for social justice. By using textile art as a vehicle for personal transformation and community cohesion, SJSA empowers youth to become agents of social change. We promote a model that actively promotes dialogue with our surrounding community through the lens of contemporary art. We support youth to become civically engaged artists as they are challenged to tackle current social issues in their community that directly affect their lives. A unique part of our program intentionally bridges generational, racial, and socioeconomic divides by sending youth art blocks to hundreds of embroiderers across the world where the issues facing our young people are literally brought into the households of traditionally affluent people with the hope of sparking dialogue and action.
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SJSA empowers young people to use sewing to express themselves and create opportunities for growth and change.
WHY SOCIAL JUSTICE + SEWING?
The murder of Trayvon Martin, the 17-year-old unarmed teen who was deemed “suspicious” by George Zimmerman for walking through a gated community where his father lived in Sanford, Florida, ignited outrage through America. When I learned that Trayvon was only 14 days older than me I was shook to the core because he could have been me or any of my friends. His death illuminated how society perpetuates a sense of black unbelonging and authorizes and empowers anyone with white skin to violate black citizenship rights through racial profiling and other intrusive forms of surveillance and policing. For 13 years, I quilted the same traditional patterns and followed industry standard, spending thousands of hours refining my craft in the company of quilting mentors. However, in these privileged spaces I began to realize that conversations of social justice were deafeningly absent. No one spoke about Trayvon's death, the protests, or the acquittal of his murderer and I felt like I needed to do something to change that. The "Rest In Power Trayvon" quilt is the first time I mixed my passion for quilting with social justice art, a mix that has made the Social Justice Sewing Academy what it is today. When I combined quilting and social justice I gained a completely new understanding of what it means to quilt with a purpose. This quilt commemorates the life of Trayvon Martin and serves to remind society that as the years pass, his life is not forgotten.
SUMMER 2016 | SJSA Program at UC Berkeley
SJSA began as a six-week summer program in Berkeley in 2016, followed by two weeks of summer workshops in Chicago.
SJSA continued evolving once Sara relocated to Cambridge, MA to attend Harvard Graduate School.
SJSA continued evolving once Sara relocated to Cambridge, MA to attend Harvard Graduate School.
Fall 2016 | The Cambridge School of Weston Workshop
At Harvard, Sara created and implemented a five week-long SJSA programming class of 11th and 12th graders about race, class and privilege.
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