African-American female identity in the 19th century: The individual and cultural empowerment of Harriet Powers' Bible quilts

This dissertation examines the process by which quiltmaking could become a source of individual and cultural empowerment for African American females in the 19th century. It specifically explores the life of Harriet Powers, a premier 19th century quiltmaker. It investigates the typical lifestyle that a 19th century antebellum female craftsperson might have lived. This investigation also explores the limiting, controlled environment of the southern slave plantation and also explores the process for quiltmaking from the perspective of 19th century African American female sewers. Information from slave narratives and insights from researchers John Hope Franklin (1947[1994]), Alfred Moss (1947[1994]), John Blassingame (1972), Deborah Gray White (1985), and Gladys Marie Fry (1990) inform this socio-historical understanding of the life of a seamstress before and after reconstruction. An understanding of empowerment theories relevant to individuals who existed within oppressive circumstances was investigated through the writings of John Blassingame (1972), Paulo Friere (1970), Deborah Gray White (1985), Abraham Maslow (1954 cited in Allen 1999) and Patricia Hill Collins (1990; 1998). Of all these scholars, the most directly applicable research was that of sociologist Patricia Hill Collins and her theory of empowerment (1990).;Collins theorizes that the empowerment of African American women is rooted in the process of self-definition and self-determination in the creation of artistic expression. Along with Collins' theory, the socio-cultural contexts and psycho-social constructs surrounding Powers' life, and a content analysis of the quilts, literature and other informing data, revealed foundations of her empowerment. The main argument of this dissertation is that Powers used quiltmaking as a tool for empowerment because the process incorporates the usage of historical textile design and technology, a spiritual legacy, and the act of bonding with social peer groups thereby engaging in personal expression and advocating social change. The quilt was material evidence of Harriet Powers' own artistic and personal expression. This was important because her self-expression through art was a prime example of an African American female in the 19th century defining and determining her state of being.