Atlanta Quilt Festival part 2, and Mr. Jimmy's 99th

Before I resume my post on the Atlanta Quilt Festival, I'd like to celebrate former President Jimmy Carter 99th birthday today. James Earl Carter, Jr. was born in Plains, Georgia, on October 1st, 1924, and this is where he still lives now. Plains is a small town of about 776 inhabitants, 2 1/2 hours south of Atlanta, and found among pine trees, peanut farms, and magnolias. The whole town is celebrating the 99th birthday of their beloved Mr. Jimmy, as they call him. Below, the National Park Rangers holding a birthday sign, courtesy CNN.

The Carter Center in Atlanta created a mosaic from the 15,000+ birthday greetings that have been received, so far, for Jimmy Carter. These came from celebrities, politicians, regular folks, from every state in the USA, from Europe, Australia, Africa and more.

In the last several years, Pres. Carter overcame a brain tumor, a broken hip and several falls. He entered hospice care last February. We thought the end was near but here we are celebrating his 99th birthday today. President Biden had a large happy birthday sign placed on the lawn of the White House. (Courtesy Atlanta Journal Constitution.) (Click on collage to enlarge.)

In my last post on the Atlanta Quilt Festival, part 1, I explained a bit about U.S. Congressman John Lewis (1940-2020,) a Georgia Representative, his life and achievements. There is so much more to tell about him as he accomplished a great deal. He had a fascinating life. He started in humble beginnings in cotton fields of the segregated American South. His parents' house had no plumbing or electricity. He ended as one of the finest Americans who ever lived. His life had not been easy, but he persevered. It was a joy to see him celebrated in colorful happy quilts. In my last post I showed quilts in the adjacent building to the Atlanta Southwest Art Center. In this post I'll show those exhibited in the main building, and there were many. Below is a quilt in honor of John Lewish' mother, Willa Mae Lewis.

In 2011, President Obama awarded Lewis the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. This was in gratitude for his more than 50 years on the frontline of the civil rights movement.

John Lewis wrote several books. I have some of them including his memoirs called "Walk with the Wind." I have not finished reading it yet, it's about 500 pages long. At the start of Covid I bought a mask showing part of one of his quotations "Good Trouble."

. The main building was filled with many other colorful quilts of various designs, floral, geometric and traditional. It was a feast for the eye and I took many photos, too many to show here or my post would be 6 pages long or more. I'll show some below while I'd like to address John's optimism and joy of life.

With all the horrible violence, hatred and injustice Lewis encountered you would think that he might have turned bitter or looking for some revenge, but on the contrary, he was always kind, generous and happy. He worked well in the Congress on both sides of the aisle, the Republicans and the Democrats. They all had the highest esteem for him and called him "the conscience of Congress."

My mother was also very optimistic all her life. I rarely heard her complain. She had been with my father when they had their head-on collision with a drunk driver. Both her knees were completely smashed and she could not walk. Then she was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and became partly paralyzed. Every time I called her on the phone, she always said she was feeling great and happy (even though all alone and unable to get out of the house for years.) But there are so many people who enjoy complaining. I remember as a child in France, we had a neighbor who was never happy. His wife had died several years earlier of lung cancer, even though she never smoked - but he did. He felt that cancer was her fault and it was not fair that now he had to take care of her little dog. We would see him in the street walking the dog; my mum would say "How are you, Mr. Vardin?" "Terrible, I could not sleep all night... must have been the food I bought at the grocery..." another time would be "I tried to weed my garden, it was muddy and I brought mud all over the house and there is no one to clean it ..." another time "I have an infected toe and now have to walk that stupid dog..." He had a sister close by but he said he had not spoken to her in years. He claimed she was nasty and it was her fault that they did not speak. Even looking at a lovely quilt, I think he would have found some fault in it.

I remember my mum telling me to stay away from people who are negative and constantly talking about their misery or bad luck. She said it could become contagious. I asked her "like a cold?" yes, she had answered. I thought she was kidding. But I found articles saying just that. "Emotions are contagious," wrote the Swiss psychoanalyst Carl Jung. Studies suggest that other people's moods may be as easy to catch as their germs. You can be infected with someone's happiness - or sadness. It is called emotional contagion (EC.) They found that upbeat emotions such as enthusiasm and joy, as well as negative ones such as sadness, fear and anger, can easily be passed from one person to another, often without either party realizing it. In addition negative emotions are more infectious than good ones. Dr. Elaine Hatfield, a psychologist at the University of Hawaii said "Emotional contagion happens within milliseconds, so quick you can't control it, and so subtly that you're not really aware it's going on." Some people have clinical depression certainly, but that is a mental condition that needs medical care. I'm just talking about the people who see everything black, often depressed, stingy with their money or feelings, are critical of others and are, in a way, asking for your commiseration or for you to recall one of your own problems.

Negative, complaining people would not see the joy of life in the above quilts, what we call in France Joie de Vivre. Instead they tend to be more anxious, and their anxiety prevents them from noticing the little moments of delight that could change their mood. If a family member or a friend is always whining about something, someone, or the state of the world, chances are that you'll soon feel down too. Both President Carter and Representative Lewis were kind, without malice, seeing the good in everyone and very optimistic. "Rejoice in the sky, in the sun, in the grass and trees, in the animals and people," said Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) Russian writer.

As for me, I feel happy and lucky. If I am blue, it is not because I am down in spirit, but like yesterday, it is because I was wearing blue. The day was lovely, not too warm only 85 F (29.4 C,) and the sky was blue. I wore a printed cotton blue top, light blue trousers and blue sneakers. My daughter and family took me to a southern "family" restaurant (I'll post on it next time) in a historical building. The food was delicious, the company was fun and it was a very enjoyable day. Blue reminds me of the sky and the sea rather than grief and bad mood.

John Lewis said "Be hopeful. Be optimistic. Never lose that sense of hope." He also said "Hate is too heavy a burden to bear. If you start hating people, you have to decide who you are going to hate tomorrow, who you are going to hate next week." As Lewis saw it, the answer was: "Just love everybody."

Here is another good quotation: "The Happiness of your life depends on the nature of your thoughts." Marcus Aurelius, (AD121-AD180) Roman Emperor and philosopher.

So keep happy thoughts, find joy in your life. Listen to music and dance in your mind. You may think that this is corny advice, but it has worked for me. When my late husband was toward the end of his Alzheimer's disease and could no longer speak, I'd bring music close to him on my iPad. He would listen and smile, and that made me smile, too, and still feel some happiness.

President Jimmy Carter and Representative John Lewis have had incredible, ethical lives. Georgia can be proud to have had two illustrious men serving the public - Jimmy Carter as Governor of the state, then as 39th President of the United States followed by decades as a worldwide humanitarian. John Robert Lewis was successful as a Georgia Congressman representing Atlanta in the United States House of Representatives for 33 years, until his death. They served their fellow citizens with diplomacy, compassion, honesty and skill. These are qualities to celebrate in politicians.

Before his death, on July 17, 2020 (from pancreatic cancer) John Lewis had penned an essay for the New York Times. This was published on the day of his funeral, on July 30, 2020. It was moving, filled with understanding and hope for the future. It was also a call to stand up for justice, to be motivated by human compassion. He eloquently had written: "Though I am gone, I urge you to answer the highest calling of your heart and stand up for what you truly believe." With inspiring words he told that each of us had a moral obligation to stand up, speak up and speak out. His last sentence was "So I say to you, walk with the wind, brothers and sisters, and let the spirit of peace and the power of everlasting love be your guide."

Both of these men are selfless role models who showed us the way to justice and a better society. Now it is our turn to continue their work - are we capable of the task? (Below quilt by Veronica Mays, called "Madame President.")

Quilts for John Lewis, with joy and gratitude - Atlanta Quilt Festival, part 1

Last week I was in my house in Georgia, again. For those who have not read my prior posts - my house has an address in Marietta, however it is located about 10 miles outside the center of town and city limits. It is nearer two other towns, 6 miles each from Kennesaw and Acworth and 6 miles even from Dallas in the next rural county, Paulding. There is an article in The Discoverer blog mentioning Marietta - read it here "8 of the Most Underrated Cities in the South." I have visited five of these eight - including Ellijay, Georgia; I wrote several posts including Ellijay, look here and here. Below is an overview of Marietta center. My house is west of it, at the base of Kennesaw Mountain, in West Cobb County (where I placed a red mark.) (photo coursesy The Discoverer.) The bottom photos are about a couple of miles from my house.

While there I wanted to go on a small outing, not far. When checking, I found several exhibits in greater Atlanta including a quilt show. I enjoy visiting quilt shows and have posted several from Bulloch Hall, in Roswell, GA - you can find them by clicking on the side of my post. When I saw that this was a special exhibit in honor of our late Georgia Congressman, John Lewis, of course I had to go. It was in Southwest Atlanta, off Cascade Road, at the Southwest Arts Center. Arriving there in mid-morning, two visitors were leaving, and then I was the only one, having the show all to myself. The center is immaculate and well landscaped.

The Atlanta Quilt Festival honoring John Lewis is a trilogy started in 2022 with "Good Trouble Quilts - Celebrating the Life and Legacy of Congressman John Lewis" followed in 2023 and 2024 by quilts focusing on the accomplishments and the life of John, and the power of joy and gratitude expressed by quilters who benefited from his work and sacrifices.

The side building had two large and sunny rooms with the John Lewis quilts.

Most of the quilts in these rooms had small labels next to each quilt with the quilter's name and the meaning of the work. (Please click on collage once or twice to enlarge and be able to read.)

John Lewis was a magnificent man, a good man, an inspiration, a Civil Rights giant. I believe he is one of the most admired and respected Americans in the nation, and frankly, he is a hero of mine. John Lewis (1940-2020) was among the original Freedom Riders (the Black and white activists who challenged segregation in the South in 1961.) He helped organize the March on Washington, where Dr. King was the main speaker. On March 7, 1965, John lead a group of 600 who were marching to demand the right to vote in Selma, Alabama. As they were crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge they were met by state troopers in riot gear. As they would not disperse the troopers threw tear gas and attacked the marchers with bullwhips and rubber tubing wrapped with barbed wire. There, a trooper cracked John's skull with a club and beat him again while he was on the ground. Some of the quilts below depicts this.

Between 1960 and 1966 John Lewis was arrested 40+times, and beaten repeatedly by Southern policemen. He was left in a pool of blood in Montgomery, Alabama, in a bus terminal where white people had beaten him. He spent many nights in county jails including 31 days in Mississippi's brutal Parchman Penitentiary.

Here in Nashville, John Lewis in February 1960 led a group of students to sit-down at the Woolworth's lunch counter, where only whites could be served. The counter was closed one hour later and the students arrested. John Lewis kept pursuing civil rights equity for the rest of his life. The early movement in Nashville was the start of desegregation of lunch counters and restaurants across the US. (Below vintage photo courtesy The Nashville Tennessean.)

A couple of years ago I had heard that this Woolworth building downtown Nashville had re-opened as a lunch and dinner restaurant after a $6 million renovation. The owner, a Nashville native, had found and assembled many vintage historical artifacts to place in this building, such as the "Black only" sign near a water fountain. The original mezzanine with terrazzo floors and metal railings had also be uncovered. Archival photos were hanged on the wall. I was going to drive there for lunch but then Covid happened. Just now, trying to see if it was still open for business I found out that it closed after the pendemic and was sold. It was re-opened by entrepeneurs after being remodeled into a theatre, Las Vegas style, with a "for adults only" show called "shiners," with some X-rated scenes, and all of it very much insensitive to minorities. Historic Nashville had recommended that a Civil Rights Movement trained preservationist be included in the remodeling to ensure that items of historical value be preserved. This was not done and most were tossed away in a dumpster. Last fall the building was even rented for the premiere of the controversial right-wing film "The Greatest Lie ever Sold: George Floyd and the Rise of the Black Lives Matter." Well, I have no words... Below top photo the building after renovation in 2018 then after remodeling as a theatre in 2020, courtesy Nashville Scene.

It is quite painful for me to see this happening to such an historical building, but then again I am not surprised. In Atlanta there are few historical Civil Rights buildings left, and those that are still standing have received little recognition and are in disrepair; not much for future generations to visit. After having lived in the US many years I realized that this country is not interested in preserving its historical buildings if they have to spend their money, and certainly not for Black History... I wish US tourists would stay here and spend some of their money preserving their own old buildings than crowd European cities like my home town, Paris, France. I checked and in 2022 the US Government funding for the arts (and that includes historic preservation, museums, theatres, etc.) was about $4.40 per habitat. Per comparison France in 2023 is funding the arts in greater Paris 139 Euros per habitat, or $150.21, and 15 Euros, or $16.21 for the rest of the country. If French tax payers did not pay for the arts, by now all the old castles, churches and all the museums would not be worth visiting, as entry fares alone are not enough to maintain them, and churches don't even charge. I have been a member of the American Historic Preservation for many years. Yearly membership is less than a fancy meal at a restaurant. I don't know anyone else who belongs. Here is the latest issue I received.

There were a large amount of quilts in the main building, and I'll show them in part two of this post. More to come ...

Addendum to Nashville grieving and gun violence

This addendum was started several days ago. Then I stopped writing it thinking that most people would not be interested in reading it. Many bloggers prefer to talk about family, food, gardening, travel or other more palatable subjects than gun violence. I believe that if you are part of society, enjoying its pleasures and benefits is fine but remaining silent during its trials is almost being complicit. So I decided to finish writing it - if only one person in Tennessee changes their mind about voting for an extreme right-wing politician, then it is worth it.

Here is a continuation of my post of Thursday, April 6, 2023, Nashville grieving,explaining the shooting in Nashville at the Covenant School, a local elementary school. As I mentioned in that post I was trying to provide clear explanations to my family and readers from overseas in reply to their requests. Seen from overseas the US gun laws make no sense. They cannot understand why this country is unable to control gun violence. Please read my last post first then come back here to read the rest of the story... On Thursday March 30, 2023, three days after the shooting, a crowd entered the halls of the Tennessee Capitol where the lawmakers were gathered for a floor session. The Tennessee State Capitol was built on a hill in Nashville with the help of convicts and enslaved people and finished in 1859. See vintage postcards below. The picture on the right was the TN State Library until 1953 when it was moved.

The crowd of children, teenagers and parents came to demand action on gun safety and kept chanting "Shame on you" and "Children are dead and you don't care." Several lawmakers placed headphones on their ears so they would not hear, then microphones were turned off in the public areas to block out the chants and a 5-minute recess was called. During the recess, TN State Democratic Representatives Justin Jones of Nashville, joined Gloria Johnson of Knoxville, and Justin Pearson of Memphis, to the podium with a megaphone, to be heard and to conduct the "Gun control now!" chant with the people in the balcony where kids and adusts (even adults with babies) were chanting.

The rest of the lawmakers exited the chamber for about 1/2 hour and when they returned the Speaker of the House, Republican Cameron Sexton, said that this was "not acceptable behavior" and action would be taken in the next few days against the three Democrat representatives. On Monday April 3, 2023, the TN Republican lawmakers filed a resolution to expel those three, now nicknamed the Tennessee Three (TN 3.) They had already been removed from their committees and had their State Capitol identity badges deactivated. Speaker Sexton said they had broken "several rules of decorum and procedure on the House Floor." Below photo of floor of the TN State Legislature, courtesy ABC.

Speaker Sexton accused Rep. Justin Pearson of having given a "temper tantrum" like a spoiled kid wanting attention. Later he added: "What they did today was at least equivalent, maybe worse, depending on how you look at it, of doing an insurrection in the Capitol." Really? Worse than the insurrection on the Washington Capitol on January 6, when a horde armed with weapons stormed the Capitol looking to kill the US Speaker of the House, to hang the Vice-President, killing and injuring Capitol Police, and urinating and thrashing the building? Really? The Tennessee Three's violation of the rules of decorum was worse that this insurrection? Please... Dictionary definition of decorum "Decorums - the conventions or requirements of polite behavior." On Thursday April 6, 2023, the TN 3 were given twenty minutes each to speak and to answer questions. Then the Tennessee House voted to expel the two Justins (both 28 years old) but spared Gloria Johnson (aged 60) by one vote only. Photo below, courtesy WBIR.

By Thursday April 6th the US media as well as the international press were aware of the expulsion proceedings and were watching. I watched it also on television. The TN 3 gave amazing speeches with courage and eloquence. But to no avail. No surprise here with the Republicans having a supermajority in the TN House of Representatives. The political makeup of the 113th General Assembly is 75 Republicans, 23 Democrats and 1 vacancy. Tennessee is one of the reddest states in the union with only two blue counties: Memphis in Shelby County and Nashville in Davidson County. See map below of TN counties showing the 2022 gubernatorial election results, courtesy Wikimedia. I just read that Tennessee is the least democratic of the 50 United States.

It was noted how the Justin Jones and Justin Pearson (by then named the two Justins) were questioned in a demeaning and condescending way compared to Ms. Gloria Johnson. It sounded like "you should know your place and not have an uppitity behavior." When the expulsion was announced the crowd was screaming "shame!" Some wondered if it had not been "payback" for Justin Jones of Nashville who was leading a movement in 2019 to remove a bust of Confederate cavalry General Nathan Bedford Forrest, first Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard and trader of enslaved people. Finally in 2021 the bust was removed from its prominent place in the State Capitol. (Photo courtesy Tennessee Lookout.)

In the state of Tennessee expulsion or banishment from the Chamber has been used just several times since the Civil War. In 1866, six lawmakers were ousted for trying to prevent citizenship to formerly enslaved people as required by the 14th Amendment; in 1980 a member was convicted of taking a bribe to kill a bill; in 2016 a member was voted out after 22 women accused him of sexual misconduct and in 2022 a member was expelled after being convicted of using Federal Grant money on wedding expenses. These took a long time to investigate and were punishment for serious misconduct, not just for "violating rules of decorum." Speaking out of turn should be punished by censure, maybe, or a reprimand, but not expulsion of duly elected lawmakers who were voicing the requests of their constituents for reasonable legislation to reduce the killing of innocent children in schools. I read reports that the US public following the proceedings on television was outraged.

On Friday April 8, 2023, Vice-President Kamala Harris made an unscheduled and surprise trip to Nashville to meet with the Tennessee Three. She came to Fisk University, a historically Black college in Nashville, TN (3 miles from my house.) Civil Rights icon, John Lewis (1940-2020) was a graduate student with a degree in religion and philosophy from Fisk University. (You may remember that in September 2013, after meeting John Lewis in Decatur, GA., at a book signing I wrote a post "John Lewis and Richard Blanco at the Decatur Book Festival.") John Lewis was a Democratic US Representative for Atlanta, GA, for many years. He had organized the "March on Washington" with Martin Luther King, Jr. in August 1963. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, TN, on April 4, 1968.

After Lewis died in 2020 officials of the Minority Caucus of Metropolitan Nashville started proceedings to permanently changed Fifth Avenue in Nashville to "Rep. John Lewis Way." This gained public support and in July 2021 it was made official. However, in January 2023, a TN Republican representative sponsored a bill to rename this street into "President Donald Trump Boulevard" after this representative had also suggested lynching and hanging by tree as an alternative for execution of inmates on death row.

Vice-President Kamala Harris met with the three expelled democrats and delivered an impassioned speech (I watched it on television; even my cat seemed interested.) Later than evening President Jo Biden held a conferance call with the TN 3 and thanked them for "their leadership in seeking to ban assault weapons and standing up for our democratic values." He invited them to the White House at a later date. (Photo credit @POTUS.)

Those junior Tennessee lawmakers were only known in the three city districts they represented and would have stayed unknown to the rest of the state (and the country.) But now they have been introduced on the national stage. Their expulsion backfired and made them known nationally, and internationally. Parts of Rep. Justin Pearson's speech before his expulsion are shown on YouTube (I show one below.) One extract shown on Twitter has been viewed, so far, by 9.5 milllion people. Both Justins have been interviewed on national television. On Monday, April 10, 2023, the Nashville Metro Council unanimously voted to reinstate Rep. Justin Jones as a representative (Memphis advised they would do so for Rep. Pearson on Wednesday April 12.) I watched on local news as Jones walked back into the House of Representative that evening. Will there be changes in Tennessee gun laws? Maybe, but the state is overwhelmingly Republican apart from a couple of large cities. Tennessee used to be politically moderate compared to other Southern states. In 2000 this started to change with the advent of extreme right propaganda TV networks and radio statons. The poor rural counties in Tennessee listen mostly to Fox News, launched in 1990. It was started by right-wing Republicans to intentionally air misrepresentation in order to exploit those who have been identified as easily manipulated. They pander to their implicit bias as well as sociopolitical and economic fears. In those counties health and education are below average. Many people working one or two jobs at minimum wage believe all the conspiracies and disinformation thrown at them and vote Republican. Photos below of Jones returning to the House Chamber, and meeting Joan Baez at the Nashville airport when coincidentally booked on same flight.

As I wrote in my first paragraph last Saturday April 8th, I had decided to stop writing this post and to return to Atlanta the next day. Over the weekend I thought better of it, so I stayed. Before I could finish writing it yesterday, Monday 10 April, there was another mass shooting. This time in Louisville, Kentucky, a city about 2 1/2 hour drive north from my home in Nashville (Atlanta is about 5 hour drive south.) A 25-year old portfolio banker killed 5 of his colleagues and wounded 8 others at Old National Bank, a regional bank in downtown Louisville. He used an AR-15 style semi-automatic rifle, an assault weapon that was just used in the Nashville shooting. As Vice-President Harris said in her speech at Fisk Universithy last Friday, "Assault weapons ...are weapons of war,"..."These are weapons that are designed to kill a lot of people quickly. They have no place on the streets of a civil society." Kentucky is a southern state like Tennessee with a Republican majority unwilling to place any restriction on these weapons. The Louisville mass shooting is the 146th since the beginning of 2023 and the 15th since April 1st. This violence is uniquely found in the United States. You can be shot anywhere here, at school, a grocery store, a dance hall, in a farm, movie theater, beauty parlor, etc. and now a bank. (Photo of another flower memorial, courtesy KLKY.)

All this is quite sad and generates a pessimistic attitude. There is hope though, as Generation Z (10 to 24 years old) does not get their news just from national or local outlets but via digital sources. They can find the facts and verify them on the Internet and avoid biased networks. Most of them say they never or rarely trust outlets such as Fox News and conservative Sinclair Broacasting Group that owns a majority of local news stations and build "local reports" that are untrue and air them to folks that don't realize they're being subjected to Sinclair's right-wing agenda. Generation Z is more motivated and not afraid to demonstrate, as seen in Nashville in the last few days. I'll end this with a quotation from a French revolutionary stateman, Maximilien Robespierre (1758-1794) followed by a peaceful photo of spring in Jimmy Carter Presidential Library gardens in Atlanta, GA.