The Social Justice Sewing Academy (SJSA) works with young adults and teens to help find their voice through the art of quilting. Students learn how to cut fabric and make quilt blocks and, along the way, find the strength to express the systemic problems that plague their everyday life. 

One branch of the SJSA is the Remembrance Project which focuses on lives lost due to violence and social injustices. Volunteers receive the name of an individual who has been killed and then research the individual’s case in order to create a quilt block in their memory. The blocks are sewn into banners that are displayed by organizations all over the US to raise awareness and ignite action. 

In this lecture, SJSA founder Sara Trail will trace the roots of the SJSA and the Remembrance Project. She’ll show the impact these programs have had on both participants and larger communities. Learn how art can be a powerful tool for social change.