First-time author Phyllis Lawson tells the story of her black heritage in Quilt of Souls, a memoir of growing up as a child in the South during the 50s. Sent to Alabama at age four to live indefinitely with her maternal grandparents she'd never known, Lawson is one of "grandma's other babies. Fortunately, Grandma Lula's quilts and family stories bring healing.

00:15   Intro to Phyllis Lawson, author of Quilt of Souls 

01:15   As one of “grandma’s other babies,” Lawson sent to Alabama to live with grandparents

01:45   Family part of the “Great Black Migration” in the 40s and 50s, seeking fortune in North

03:00   Typical of African-American families to send “extra” children away

04:30   Migration causes “very, very extended” family to live together just to get by

05:15   Lawson aches for mother, then meets “Miss Lula” (grandmother) for the first time

06:00   Grandma Lula gives Lawson lots of attention and warmth

06:50   She uses a special “quilt of souls” to warm and comfort young Phyllis

08:50   After hungering for maternal love, her mother arrives but Lawson fears being taken from her grandmother

10:40   Learns how to quilt while also learning family stories

11:15    While quilting, Lula intentionally passes on oral family history so the stories wouldn’t be lost

12:00   Today, Lawson encourages every eldest family member to share stories with the youngest

13:45   Warns of losing stories by either neglecting to talk about them or to listen and record the stories

15:10   In Quilt of Souls, Lawson sprinkles stories of Southern racism

16:05   Lula intentionally stays away from color terms (“black” & “white”); respects all people

16:50   “Don’t ever look at the bad in a person and work backward; look at the good and work forward.”

17:10   When the Ku Klux Klan shows up, Grandma Lula invites them in to eat, averting the capture of a young black boy

18:50   Pecking order among blacks is still a hidden dilemma of the black community

20:20   Fair-skinned blacks don't mind letting people know of their white ancestry

20:55   Mixed genealogy often not discussed (e.g., Miss Hattie)

21:45   Discovers that Miss Hattie, a strong-willed woman, is grandmother’s stepsister stolen in slavery

22:35   Grandma Lula teaches Lawson to love her dark black skin

23:00   Eavesdropping provides an informal education of original-source history lessons in slavery

24:50   Local black school receives “the dreaded Dick and Jane” secondhand books

26:00   Black teachers abandon textbooks; begin teaching kids from the Britannica encyclopedias

27:40   Returns to Detroit public schools; discovers she loves poetry, especially Langston Hughes’ poem, “A Dream Deferred”

28:45   Her mother attends Alabama Teaching College, but she marries, moves to Detroit, and gives up teaching dream for cleaning houses

30:25   Lawson carries her grandparents’ truisms (e.g., “Trouble don’t last always, chile.”)

32:15   The quilt becomes a symbol of more than family history

32:45   How Lawson stays connected to the trauma of past while still looking to a bright future

34:10  Grandma Lula's early, strong foundation later lifts her up and moves her in the right direction

35:00   Ancestors make Lawson who she is and destine her to write their stories

35:15   Unsung, Lawson's next book slated for publication in late 2019

35:45   Recommendation: The Keeping Quilt by Patricia Polacco (author and illustrator)

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By "The Keeping Quilt" by Patricia Polacco

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