More than 1,000 quilt squares, containing 2,200 personal stories, have been displayed in 22 cities across the United States
As a national touring collection of stories from survivors of rape and abuse, the Monument Quilt will visit Cleveland, with a display on Case Western Reserve University’s campus from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Oct. 11 in Tinkham Veale University Center, ballroom B.
The event is free, open to the community and designed to bring awareness and inspire discussion.
Written, stitched and painted onto red fabric, the stories are displayed in city and town centers to create a public space for survivors to heal.
Rape and abuse survivors, loved ones and supporters will have the opportunity to create a square during the quilt display. Resources from campus and community groups also will be available.
By spring of 2018, organizers anticipate collecting more than 6,000 fabric squares to display “Not Alone” on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
According to the project’s website: “The quilt resists the popular and narrow narrative of how sexual violence occurs by telling many stories, not one. … The quilt builds a new culture where survivors are publicly supported, rather than publicly shamed.”
For more information, visit themonumentquilt.org.
The Cleveland display of the Monument Quilt is being sponsored by the CWRU Social Justice Institute, Flora Stone Mather Center for Women, the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, CWRU Green Dot, Greek Life, SMARRT (Students Meeting About Risk and Responsibility Training), Begun Center for Violence Prevention Research and Education Sexual Assault Initiative, SAVE (Sexual Assault and Violence Educators), The Feminist Collective at CWRU, the CWRU LGBT Center, the Women & Gender Studies Program, the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center, the National Council of Jewish Women/Cleveland, ATNSC: Center for Healing and Creative Leadership, and the Center for Civic Engagement and Learning. (As of 09/28/2017)
This article was originally published Sept. 29, 2017.