In 1983, as part of the Michigan Quilt Project, the staff of the Michigan Traditional Arts Program at the Michigan State University Museum began collecting information on African-American quiltmaking in the state. Approximately forty to fifty quilts are being shown with descriptive labels and photographs of the quilters. African-American quilts serve as visual records of patterns of migration and settlement. Some scholars link those particular construction techniques to textile traditions found in West Africa. As families bring quilts to Michigan from other states or countries they bring with them the stories of the families they left behind.
Quilts serve in other ways as documents of family history.
Numerous African-American quilts in Michigan were made from clothing scraps of family members and were given as gifts on such family occasions as births, weddings and graduations. The history of particular people, places and events in communities is also documented in these quilts. Like photographs or album books, these quilts serve as documents of the relationships of certain groups at particular points in history. There are a variety of common quiltmaking traditions found in the African-American community. Quilting has traditionally served as an opportunity for social interaction, affording important opportunities to share productive time with friends and family.