" Maafa "

Maafa is a Kiswahili term, coined by Dr. Marimba Ani, to describe the horror of the Middle Passage, or the journey from Africa to the Americas. Literally, it means “great disaster of unimaginable horror." It has been estimated that more than 20 million Africans lost their lives during the trans-Atlantic slave trade. This quilt is a memorial to those who died and a tribute to the intrepidness of those unwilling voyagers for enduring and surviving.

This piece was completely hand sewn, taking almost two years to complete. It is made of leather, linen, stripped hides, and embellished with pewter chains. I chose dark colors to portray my feelings of dismay. The door depicts “The Door of No Return” of Goree Island off the coast of Dakar, Africa from which the voyage began for many Africans. It was the last view they saw before leaving the Mother Land. There are over one thousand hand- sewn beads each representing 10,000 lives lost. They collectively represent the bodies of the Africans, which were often packed tightly and chained to the hull of the ships. “This piece was a catharsis for my soul which needed to weep for such an inexplicable loss. At the same time, it was my way of celebrating the indomitable spirit of the African people.” (72 in x 108 in)