On This Day in History Quilt for April 15.
On this day in 1947 Jack “Jackie” Roosevelt Robinson became the first African American player to join Major League Baseball, competing for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Robinson was born in Cairo, Georgia to sharecropper parents. In college at the University of California at Los Angeles, he was the first athlete in the school’s history to letter in four varsity sports—baseball, basketball, football and track. Robinson faced and protested against racial discrimination throughout his career. He retired from baseball in 1957 to work in business and continue his work as a civil rights activist. He died in 1972 at age 53.
Mildred Beene Lee of Bridgeport, Alabama (born in Marion County, Tennessee) made this Baseball quilt around 1919 for her sons’ room. The quilt is hand and machine pieced in wool and cotton fabric and hand quilted with a thick batting for warmth. The quilt was documented during the Quilts of Tennessee project by the family member who inherited it.
View this quilt on The Quilt Index to read more about it’s history, design and construction. Be sure to use the zoom tool for a detailed view.
Sources:
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/jackie-robinson-breaks-color-barrier
Posted by Amy E. Milne
Executive Director, Quilt Alliance
amy.milne@quiltalliance.org
Amy-I appreciate these posts and the history facts you link with the featured quilt. Thanks for taking time to do this for all of us to enjoy!
Thanks, Ann. I love doing them! It underscores the variety of quilts and patterns and the diversity and commonality of interests and concerns that occupy the thoughts and times of quiltmakers.