Race to Freedom exhibit features quilt that celebrates World Games sports
By Chanda Temple
When news started to build about the World Games coming to Birmingham, Theresa McGhee Johnson wondered how she could showcase her excitement for others to see.
So, she did what she does best: She made a quilt.
The Birmingham native started on the quilt in April 2022 and finished it at the end of June. In early July, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute included her quilt in its “Race to Freedom’’ exhibit, which will close on July 16. The gallery focuses on race in sports and includes historic pieces such as the 1996 Olympic torch from Atlanta, cereal boxes with African-American Olympians on them, noteworthy memorabilia from Muhammad Ali, Hank Arron, etc.
Johnson’s quilt features 40 different sports of the World Games. She drew each image in her composition tablet, made the patterns, ironed the patterns onto the quilt and hand stitched around each figure so they would stay in place. At the top of the quilt is a banner filled with her hand-stitched images of popular Birmingham landmarks including Sloss Furnaces, Citizens Bank founded by A.G. Gaston and Vulcan. It also features the colors of the World Games.
“The quilt represents Birmingham, to me,’’ said Johnson, 69. “I felt good from the beginning to the end while working on it. It was awesome.’’
Her favorite square is the breakdancing one because she recalls how her children used to breakdance in the backyard when they were younger. She also likes the wheelchair rugby square. Some figures, such as the sumo wrestlers and flag football, posed a challenge for her to create because she wanted to get the image just right. But when she found herself stuck, she simply closed her eyes and thought about how they moved during their sport.
When she went back to work, she successfully captured the movement of the sport.
“My family gave me time every evening to get my nap and then get up at 7 o’clock and work on it,’’ she said. “My energies were ready to start flowing. My friends have been excited to know that I have created a part of history for Birmingham, AL.’’
One of her friends, Dee Walker, stepped in to help Johnson create embroidered labels for each quilt square to show the name of the sport. Walker made the labels and Johnson stitched them onto the squares.
While making the quilt, Johnson often thought about how she used to watch the Olympics with her grandmother, who taught her how to make quilts when she was 9. And now to still be able to use those skills on a project she created to highlight Birmingham and the World Games is extra special.
“Quilting is therapeutic. It’s so calming. That’s what I teach, and that’s what I live by,’’ said Johnson, who is the executive director at United Community Center in Riley. She teaches free quilting classes on Mondays from 2 to 5 p.m. at the center, which is located at 3617 Hickory Ave.
The “Race to Freedom” exhibit represents the marathon for progress and gives a historical perspective of African-American athletes and the challenges they faced in their early and professional careers. Doors open at 10 a.m. and will close at 8 p.m. for this exhibit. The last entry to the exhibit will be 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children. Go here for more info. To see a video of the exhibit, go here.
BCRI will also host STEAM Sporting Saturday on July 16. For more information on these events and more, visit www.bcri.org.
