Patterns of perseverance for fragile optimism

Today, the union of remnants

I was privileged to travel recently to Tacoma via Sound Transit to view the unique exhibit at the Tacoma Art Museum: The Gee's Bend Quilts. Ever since I saw them at the Greg Kucera Gallery in Seattle last summer, I have been waiting with bated breath for the Houston Art Museum "Gee's Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt" Exhibit to arrive in Tacoma this fall for its current showing until Dec. 9, 2007.

During this past winter, I conscientiously purchased sheet after sheet of Gee's Bend Commemorative Stamps and used them with pride. I think that the Exhibit at TAM is absolutely wonderful. I think the quilts are displayed beautifully. One could approach them to look closely at the craftsmanship, and one could stand back and just ponder their magnificence.

I have been in despair the past seven years with the poor leadership in our nation, worrying about our young men and women in foreign lands, our dire economic future and what it portends for my great-nieces and great-nephews. Yet, as I stood, dwarfed by these quilts, I felt the intelligence of these quilters who created their own patterns out of love for their children in their efforts to keep these children warm in drafty Southern cabins that no human being ought to have had to live in. Their humanity was visible to me as I looked up at quilt after quilt.

I felt the hope for the future that we as a people can reach for, the optimism that together we can also overcome the discord, the fear, the separation and the isolation of our lives, as well as the greed and the selfishness that have confused us and the corporate leaders and the politicians whom they "own."

These humble quilts, sewn by women in a backwater of Alabama, being exhibited here in the Pacific Northwest, offer each of us a beacon of light out of the darkness in which we presently live. I encourage everyone who can make the journey to Tacoma to view these quilts, as they are a portrayal of our own humanity.

Cheryl Banks writes from Seattle. The Quilts of Gee's Bend, visiting from Alabama, exhibits quilts dating from the American slave era and can be viewed at the Tacoma Art Museum, 1701 Pacific Ave., Tacoma. Call 253-272-4258 or visit www.tacomaartmuseum.org