Routed West: Twentieth-Century African American Quilts in California

The first publication dedicated to historical African American quilts in California, Routed West traces the flow and flourishing of quilts in the context of the Second Great Migration from 1940 to 1970. As millions of African Americans sought greater economic opportunities and freedom outside of the American South, hundreds of thousands initially arrived in the Golden State. Many migrants carried quilts as functional objects and physical reminders of the homes they left behind. They also brought their quiltmaking skills, extending the art form’s Southern roots to the western United States in the later part of the 20th century.

Featuring vibrant images of over 100 quilts by nearly 90 individuals―the majority of whom are women and have ties to the San Francisco Bay Area―and new research, Routed West honors the resilience, self-determination, collective care and creative ingenuity of this distinctive migrant generation. Essays by scholars, curators, quilt historians and artists celebrate the joyful power of African American quilts as objects of beauty, memory and cultural reclamation within Black life, and explore the role of museums in their stewardship and preservation. This book accompanies a group exhibition of artworks drawn from the African American quilt collection at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive.