Ashley
The entire Indigo Road project was inspired by an article in Smithsonian magazine. When I saw the image of Ashley’s sack, I felt goosebumps, and tears welled in my eyes. The article described how in 2006 a woman bought a box of vintage textiles at a flea market for $20. In the box was a plain cotton muslin flour sack embroidered with this brief family record:
My great grandmother Rose
mother of Ashley
gave her this sack when
she was sold at age 9 in South Carolina
it held a tattered dress 3 handfulls of
pecans a braid of Roses hair.
Told her it be filled with my Love always
she never saw her again
Ashley is my grandmother
– Ruth Middleton, 1921
Audacy Sheffield ’27
As a mother, I could imagine nothing more horrifying than having my daughter being taken from me and sold. I immediately bought and read Professor Tiya Miles’ brilliantly written book "All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley’s Sack, a Black Family Keepsake." I was inspired by Ashley’s family using embroidery to preserve their legacy, but I was also angry that throughout my education, the true facts of African American history had been purposefully suppressed.
As a costume designer, I tell the histories of characters. I kept researching and reading so that I could share these stories with my students. Together, we developed this idea to honor the lives of people who had previously been ignored. A team of Brandeis students learned how to embroider and sew together, and in two years, they created a beautiful body of art that we hope brings thought, reflection, and awe to the people who view it.
Brooke Stanton
Sources
- A Simple Cotton Sack Tells an Intergenerational Story of Separation Under Slavery. Smithsonian magazine. June 18, 2021.Miles, Tiya (2021).
- All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley's Sack, a Black Family Keepsake. New York: Random House.
