Crafting for survival has been happening since the millennium. Our ancestors used to barter for goods and services. As a result, skilled crafts people were respected and honored in their communities. Their work was admired for it's beauty and purpose. Many people aspired to follow in their footsteps. seeking apprenticeships from master artisans.
The gold work of the Benin, baskets from Ghana, musical instruments from Mali and Morocco. Today the baskets of the Gullah in SC and the Black potters of Georgia evoke these traditions.
I remember my Mom telling me that when she was a little girl Black people were not allowed to try on clothes or shoes in dept stores. As a result, almost all creative fashionable Black women knew how to sew, knit and crochet. Not only to make garments for themselves and their family but to have a marketable skill that they could use as a financial resource. Jackie Kennedy recognized this. That's why she had African American designer Ann Lowe created her wedding dress.
Rarely is crafting discussed or presented in relation to Black American or African people. Like much of our history and lives it's riddled with the prevailing stereotypes and bigotries. In spite of this, me like other Black artisans have decided to forge ahead in the Spirit of the craft and ancestors.
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