Flag Story Quilt, Marquetta Johnson (active late 1900s); Faith Ringgold (1930–2024)

In 1972 Ringgold abandoned canvas as a medium and turned to cloth, drawing on her own heritage in quiltmaking. She traced her working in quilts to her great-great-grandmother, Betsy Bingham, and her great-grandmother, Susie Shannon, both slaves whose duties included making quilts for plantation owners. In this powerful work from 1985, Ringgold uses the form of the U.S. flag and alternates tie-dyed fabric with written text. The handwriting narrates the wrenching story of a quadriplegic Vietnam War veteran wrongly accused of the rape and murder of a white woman. The work plays on the political and textile characteristics of the flag and the tensions between the traditional quilt medium and contemporary violence and racism.