Quilter’s homage to queen chronicled Ex-slaves’ protection focus of kids’ book

In 1830, George Erskine, a slave in east Tennessee, finally saved $2,400 to buy his freedom and that of his wife and seven children. Soon, the family began a new life in Liberia, on the western coast of Africa, a country established for former slaves where they could live in freedom, go to school and own land.

British ships patrolled the Liberian coast to prevent slavers from kidnapping Liberians and selling them back into slavery.

Erskine’s daughter Martha Ann admired Queen Victoria for taking such a step to protect the lives of her people and to clamp down on slave trafficking. She wanted to do something to honor the British monarch. She decided to make a quilt, and to find a way to present the quilt to the queen in person.

That is the basic story line of a new children’s book, “Martha Ann’s Quilt for Queen Victoria,” written by Kyra E. Hicks and illustrated by Lee Edward Fodi. Martha Ann was a real person, and the story about her and the making of the quilt for Queen Victoria is true.

The book brings to light the life history of a black woman who otherwise might have passed from the world unknown were it not for her noble idea and the skills of her hands that created a work of art in fabric.

The book will appeal to young and old, to those who love quilts, those who want to learn more about the history of African Americans, and those who love the history of quilts and quilting.

To obtain a copy of the book, visit your local bookstore or www.brownbooks.com. Kyra E. Hicks is a quilt artist from Virginia. To learn more about her quilts and her writing, visit www.blackthreads.com.