By Laura Steiner, Local Journalism Initiative
The walls in Fireside Lounge at the Milton Public Library (MPL) feature something new this August to mark Emancipation month. A quilt entitled The Fabric of Our Being showcases African-Canadian History. Poet-Writer and Arts Educator Nadine Williams led the creation of the textile art installation and unveiled it on August 1; known as Emancipation Day for the passage of the Slavery Abolition Act in 1884.
It’s part of broader efforts to recognize the United Nations (UN) Decade for International People of African Descent. According to their website, the UN’s goal for the decade is to celebrate the important contributions of people of African descent worldwide, advance social justice and inclusion policies, eradicate racism and intolerance, and promote human rights. Approximately 200 million people identifying themselves as being of African descent live in the Americas. According to Stats Canada there are 1.5 million Black Canadians, and of those approximately 32% was born in Africa, including Nigeria, Ethiopia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Other origins identified are Jamaican, Haitian, Canadian, Caribbean, African Caribbean, Congolese, and Yoruba. Many however identified as Black, “without clarification”.
The decade began in 2015 is set to end in December of this year. Williams became aware of it in 2016, and decided to make it the subject of her 2017 poster for Black History month. “Throughout that year, I found that hardly any hands were going up to say they were aware we were in the decade,” she said. In 2018, she brought the poster back, bringing it to life. “The Fabric of Our Being. She describes it as a co-creation with Milton Library, where she worked with twenty kids and one parent over a four-week period to create an individual square based on the themes of the mother tongue, as well as an ABC (Amazing Black Canadian). The results were designs that featured flags, as well as the scales of justice, a heart, with “the fabric of our being” written above it, all centred around a block featuring the African Continent.
They used an image of Williams herself in the bottom left corner to anchor the quilt. “I’m so, so tickled,” she said of the recognition, as their ABC. There is a second, more generic quilt, which has been installed in 175 locations including school board offices, as well as Toronto’s Union Station. It’s a black quilt bordered with red, and green with a map of Canada filled in with fabrics of different designs, below which are the three themes of the decade: Recognition, Development, and Justice.
Quilts played an important role in transmitting messages along the Underground Railroad during slavery regarding where escaping slaves could seek refuge, as well as giving warmth and comfort. “It’s not about me, it’s about the story of people of African descent and bringing to life,” Williams said. Williams also wrote a poem entitled the Fabric of Our Being, which tells of Black Canadians being ‘woven into Canada’s fabric. It ends with the line: “You best believe, we’ve been here all along. “
The partnership with the Milton Public Library happened with a single conversation. “I reached out, they said yes, Williams said. It fit in with Library as well. “Doing the project with Nadine Williams to celebrate emancipation day is just one of many projects we do,” MPL CEO Sarah Douglas-Murray said. They also host activities based around other cultural holidays as part of their evolution into a community hub. “Milton is a very diverse community, and it’s something we’re very conscious of,” Murray added. One of the things Williams is taking from this project is about diversity. “More than anything else, I’m reminded that diversity is our strength, and that we all have contributed to the fabric of our being. And that it’s important to celebrate that,” Williams said.
