Marion Coleman is a national award-winning contemporary artist who specializes in pictorial quilts on African American history and culture. Currently on view at the MSU Museum is her quilt, Ruby Bridges: What a Difference a School Makes.
“This quilt is important to me because I attended segregated schools in Texas,” Coleman said. “They were still segregated in 1964 when I graduated from high school. I was inspired by Ms. Bridges’ courage and used my sister’s image as a model for Ruby Bridges. Overall the quilt is important because it documents a unique aspect of the Civil Rights Movement where even the youngest of us can make a difference. It is also important as a women’s rights story where every woman and child is entitled to a quality education as a doorway to great opportunity.”
At 6 p.m. on April 24 at the MSU Museum, Marion Coleman will talk about her own experience growing up during segregated schools and her aim to use her art as a tool for educating others about the African American experience.
Leslie Aririguzo of MSU’s Black Student Alliance will also perform spoken word poetry inspired by Ruby Bridges.
This event is in conjunction with the exhibit Ruby Bridges, Brown v. Board of Education, and The Greater Lansing Sites of Conscience Project, currently on view at the MSU Museum through July 3, and Project 60/50, a yearlong community conversation on civil and human rights.