Last Modified:
March 2, 2011
ABOUT THE GUILD
PURPOSE
We seek to promote the work and accomplishments of African American quilters, and to preserve the tradition, culture and history of quilting. The guild will share this rich legacy with others by sponsoring workshops and exhibits.
HISTORY
The word uhuru is Swahili for "freedom". Uhuru's first meeting was held the third Saturday in March 1994 at the Oxon Hill Library. A brief notice in the Quilters Newsletter Magazine prompted Carol Williams to write to Barbara Pietila, founder of the National Association of African American Quilters (now defunct, but there is a revival attempt in progress), in Baltimore, MD. As a member of NAAAQ, an invitation to other NAAAQ members to form a chapter in the Washington, DC area. Uhuru is the result of that invitation.
The founding members were Carol Williams, Constance Tucker, Bennie Mann, Melody Boyd, Cynthia Catlin, Jeanette Cumberbatch, Barbara Brown, Paula Sherman, Marie Banks, Jennifer Morris, and Mazie Hines.
EXHIBITIONS & MEDIA
The guild is Chapter 655 of the National Quilting Association (NQA). The guild has been featured in articles in the Washington Times, Baltimore Sun and Washington Post. We have exhibited at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the Smithsonian, the Miller Office Building in Annapolis, Maryland, and various African American Cultural/Heritage Days at the National Colonial Farm, the University of Maryland, and local public school systems.
The Uhuru Quilters membership reflects the diversity of the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area and the quilting population. Skills range from beginning quilters to advanced fiber artists and professional quilters. While many members engage in quilting as a hobby, the guild also has quilting instructors, quilt judges, and quilt historians as members. Individual members have won awards and ribbons at the Maryland State Fair, county fairs in Prince George's, Montgomery, and Anne Arundel, and quilt/needlework shows sponsored by Sotterley and Woodlawn Plantations. Our members' art has been published in Communion of the Spirits by Roland Freeman, Spirits of the Cloth by Carolyn Mazloomi, and Heirloom Machine Quilting by Harriet Hargrove.
2010-2011 EXECUTIVE BOARD
Officers |
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| Coordinator | Carolyn Burgess | |
| Assistant Coordinator | Cornelia Carter-Sykes | |
| Secretary | Terry Gibbs | |
| Treasurer | Charlene Marshall | |
Committee Chairs and Members |
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| Block of the Month | Tammie Morrow | |
| Challenge/Round Robin | Deb Sanger | |
| Charm Exchange | Jackie Stafford | |
| Community Service | Charlene Dean & Betty Phillips | |
| Door Prizes | Shirley Hodge | |
| Fundraising | Barbara Hunter | |
| Librarian | Nadine Mills | |
| Marketplace | Elsie Houston | |
| Membership | Shirley Hodge, Joanne Thompkins | |
| Quilt Show/Exhibits | Nadine Mills, Carolyn Burgess, Robin Jones, Rosa Walls, Phyliss Fagan, Elsie Houston, Natalie Webster | |
| Raffle Quilt | Jennifer Morris, Jackie Stafford, Sandra Ealy, Vinnie Best | |
| Refreshments/Hospitality | Maxine Morgan, Azalia Butler, Dawn Felix, Yvonne Nickens, Camilla Younger | |
| Retreat | Azalia Butler | |
| Uhuru, Jr. | Willie Mae Miller | |
| Website/News | Linda McKenzie | |
| Workshops/Study Groups | Sarita Brewer, Tammie Morrow, Cynthia Wilson | |