Harriet Powers is considered the mother of the African American story quilt tradition. Born into slavery in 1837, she began making extraordinary quilts in the 1870s. “Fabric of a Nation: American Quilt Stories” is the first time her Bible quilt and the Pictorial quilt—the only known surviving works by the artist—have been displayed together. This 5-minute video features the words of historian and author Tiya Miles, in a close examination of Powers’s art as an expression of her faith. Tiya Miles is a professor of history and Radcliffe Alumnae Professor at Harvard University. Her latest book, All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley's Sack, a Black Family Keepsake, is a 2021 National Book Awards finalist. I am trying to gather the strength to find the appropriate words to say right now. Harriet Powers is one of the strongest women I have ever learned about. She was born a slave and then, by sheer desire and determination and will, she became an artist. She decided that the mo...