Object Details
Artist
Myrah Brown Green, born Boston, MA 1956
Exhibition Label
Myrah Brown Green
born 1956, Boston, MA
resides Brooklyn, NY
In My ??Akuabaa Form
2000
cotton fabric and cotton batting
The Akuabaa figure, a Ghanaian symbol of protection of mothers and their children, stands as the focal point of this quilt. Around it, triangles arranged into a quilting pattern known as “flying geese” conjure a sense of flight and freedom.
One of quilter Myrah Brown Green’s most cherished childhood memories is having dessert with her mother at the lunch counter of the Woolworth department store in Cambridge, Massachusetts. This quilt honors the four Black college students from North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University who made those memories possible.
In 1960, the students staged a sit-in at the segregated ?Woolworth's counter?? in Greensboro, North Carolina. Their persistent, nonviolent direct actions led to the desegregation of the lunch counter and generated a larger commitment to civil disobedience for civil rights.
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Fleur S. Bresler, 2023.40.19, © 2000, Myrah Brown Green
We Gather at the Edge: Contemporary Quilts of Black Women Artists, 2025
Credit Line
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Fleur S. Bresler
Copyright
© 2000, Myrah Brown Green
Date
2000
Object number
2023.40.19
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Type
Decorative Arts-Fiber
Quilt
Crafts
Medium
cotton fabric and cotton batt
Dimensions
95 × 86 in. (241.3 × 218.4 cm)
See more items in
Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection
Department
Renwick Gallery
Data Source
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Topic
Figure\full length
Dress\African dress
Dress\Ghanaian dress
Link to Original Record
Record ID
saam_2023.40.19