Artist Statement-Clairissa-Deborah

On our quilt square their is a bluff this is where the Fort Pillow Massacre took place. On top of the bluff their is a portion of how the battle would have looked. Below the bluff is the Mississippi River; It is dyed red because the blood and dead bodies flooded down the steep hill and into the river. Inside the river is a quote by Nathan Bedford Forrest. Above the river is an old photograph of Nathan Bedford Forrest. He was one of the first Grand Wizards of the KKK. This is why he killed 300 colored troops even after the war because he had a belief that the Blacks, Christians, and Quakers were unimportant and inferior to him. So he took this rage and brutally murdered many African American troops even after they surrendered Fort Pillow along with his 3,000 rebels. Below the quote is a rifle. A rifle was one of the many ways to massacre the white generals, colored troops, women, and children besides burning and burring them alive. In the upper right corner of our piece is a fist representing the KKK (Ku Klux Klan). The fist is lynching an African American women. Although the KKK does not lynch people anymore they still use flags and banners to express their racial hatred. Some government officials also take part in the rallies and are members of the KKK.