Legacy of Four Generations: The Enduring Art of African American Quilting

At 98 years old, Laverne Brackens still lives happily in her Fairfield, Texas home, where she warmly welcomes a steady flow of visitors. Supported by a quick-witted health-care aide who visits thrice weekly, Brackens is surrounded by family—including two younger sisters, a brother, five children, and over 100 grandchildren and great-descendants—many of whom remain in the local community and regularly gather on her front porch.

Since gaining wider recognition in 2011 through a prestigious National Heritage fellowship, quilt enthusiasts have traveled along the county highway to visit her. They come to admire her vibrant, improvisational quilts, known for their uplifting spirit and bold colors. Her home is easily identifiable by bright vinyl signs on the metal fence, celebrating the mayor’s declaration of October 13, 2022, as “Laverne Brackens Day.”

Despite the many visitors, including close family members, no one is permitted to open an antique wooden trunk with brass buckles resting beside her sewing table. Sherry Byrd, Brackens’s 74-year-old daughter and a respected quilter herself, refers to it as “her treasure chest” and admits she must ask permission before even touching it.

Known as the “four-generations trunk,” this chest holds carefully rolled quilts created by Brackens, her mother Gladys Henry, her daughter Sherry, and several grandchildren. Atop one bundle lies a medallion quilt by Sherry, reminiscent of a stained-glass window, its fiery hues framed in black. Nearby rests a plush quilt crafted from the velvety purple bags of Crown Royal whiskey bottles—a unique gift from a son’s longtime friend.

“He challenged me to make something from these bags,” Brackens recalls. “I won the bet, and I’ve been creating quilts from them ever since.”