Last month we visited the Gee’s Bend Quilt Mural Trail; we’ve been meaning to go for a while and finally made it as part of our visit in Camden to Black Belt Treasures, one of my favorite shops in the whole state. Here are some pics from Gee’s Bend / Boykin:
I really wish the state would consider doing a barn quilt trail, like the Kentucky quilt trail:
…and in Tennessee, the Appalachian Quilt Trail:
There are other quilt trails, too: western North Carolina, Alcona County in Michigan, western New York…
I’ve been meaning to write about this, but if you’re a teacher or a homeschooling parent, a softcover book called ‘Treasuring Alabama’s Black Belt: Multidisciplinary Approaches to Teaching Place’ is available free of charge. It’s published by Auburn University Montgomery and is described by them this way:
…a curriculum guide for secondary educators in the fields of social studies, English/language arts, and art to explore to the concept of ‘place’ through this culturally diverse region of Alabama. Whether through reading Kathryn Tucker Windham’s stories, looking at William Christenberry’s images of rural Hale County, or discussing the modern effects of a century-old state constitution, teachers and students can begin to explore the complex idea of ‘place’ by using the Black Belt as a paradigm. Open-ended and easily modified, the lesson plans in Treasuring Alabama’s Black Belt, accompanied by scholarly introductions and descriptions of high-quality resources, can be adapted to any humanities classroom.