SALT LAKE CITY — For centuries, quilts have been used for comfort, décor, and family heirlooms. But beyond those purposes, quilts have long been used to communicate messages.
“Quilting has been a part of women’s activism for a really long time,” said Jessica Preece, a volunteer with the Women Building Peace Coalition.
Preece, who lives in Provo, and other women across the U.S. are creating quilts to deliver messages to Congress through “Quilting for the Constitution: Peace by Piece,” a national advocacy campaign led by Women Building Peace.
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The campaign invites people to gather and write messages on fabric squares, which are sewn into quilts. Through the quilts, participants are calling for the protection of checks and balances, respect for the rule of law, and a recommitment to the constitutional principles.
In May, the quilts will be hand-delivered to legislators in Washington, D.C.
“We each take our small little pieces of ourselves, we put them together, and we make something big and beautiful,” Preece said. “And that for me is a really wonderful analogy for democracy as well.”
Women Building Peace is a national coalition dedicated to empowering women through creative, collaborative advocacy.
“Not all of us have to go march,” Preece said. “Some of us can go sew.”
