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All that she carried : the journey of Ashley's sack, a Black family keepsake Cover Image Book

All that she carried : the journey of Ashley's sack, a Black family keepsake / Tiya Miles.

Journey of Ashley's sack, a Black family keepsake (portion title)
Miles, Tiya, 1970- (author.).

Summary:

"Sitting in the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture is a rough cotton bag, called "Ashley's Sack," embroidered with just a handful of words that evoke a sweeping family story of loss and of love passed down through generations. In 1850s South Carolina, just before nine-year-old Ashley was sold, her mother, Rose, gave her a sack filled with just a few things as a token of her love. Decades later, Ashley's granddaughter, Ruth, embroidered this history on the bag--including Rose's message that "It be filled with my Love always." Historian Tiya Miles carefully follows faint archival traces back to Charleston to find Rose in the kitchen where she may have packed the sack for Ashley. From Rose's last resourceful gift to her daughter, Miles then follows the paths their lives and the lives of so many like them, to write a unique, innovative history of the lived experience of slavery in the United States. The contents of the sack--a tattered dress, handfuls of pecans, a braid of hair, "my Love always"--speak volumes and open up a window on Rose and Ashley's world. As she follows Ashley's journey, Miles metaphorically "unpacks" the sack, deepening its emotional resonance and revealing the meanings and significance of everything it contained. These include the story of enslaved labor's role in the cotton trade and apparel crafts and the rougher cotton "negro cloth" that was left for enslaved people to wear; the role of the pecan in nutrition, survival, and southern culture; the significance of hair to Black women and of locks of hair in the nineteenth century; and an exploration of Black mothers' love and the place of emotion in history."-- Provided by publisher.

Record details

  • ISBN: 1984854992
  • ISBN: 9781984854995
  • ISBN: 9781984855015
  • Physical Description: xvii, 385 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color) ; 22 cm
  • Edition: First edition
  • Publisher: New York : Random House, [2021]

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:
Includes bibliographical references (pages 305-371) and index.
Formatted Contents Note:
Introduction: love's practitioners -- Ruth's record -- Searching for Rose -- Packing the sack -- Rose's inventory -- The auction block -- Ashley's seeds -- The bright unspooling -- Conclusion: it be filled.

Search for related items by subject

Subject:
Ashley (Enslaved person in South Carolina)
Middleton, Ruth Jones, 1903-1942 > Family.
African American women > Biography.
African American women > Family relationships.
African Americans > Material culture > South Carolina > History.
Enslaved persons > Family relationships > Southern States > History > 19th century.
Enslaved women > South Carolina > Biography.
Enslaved women > Southern States > Social conditions > 19th century.
Heirlooms > South Carolina > History.
Memory > United States.
Mothers and daughters.
Genre:
Biographies.

Available copies

  • 59 of 63 copies available at NC Cardinal. (Show)
  • 1 of 1 copy available at McDowell County Public Library.

Holds

  • 0 current holds with 63 total copies.
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Location Call Number / Copy Notes Barcode Shelving Location Status Due Date
Marion Library 306.362 MIL (Text) 37810435783203 Adult Nonfiction Available -

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MARC Record

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24510. ‡aAll that she carried : ‡bthe journey of Ashley's sack, a Black family keepsake / ‡cTiya Miles.
24630. ‡aJourney of Ashley's sack, a Black family keepsake
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264 1. ‡aNew York : ‡bRandom House, ‡c[2021]
264 4. ‡c©2021
300 . ‡axvii, 385 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : ‡billustrations (some color) ; ‡c22 cm
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504 . ‡aIncludes bibliographical references (pages 305-371) and index.
5050 . ‡aIntroduction: love's practitioners -- Ruth's record -- Searching for Rose -- Packing the sack -- Rose's inventory -- The auction block -- Ashley's seeds -- The bright unspooling -- Conclusion: it be filled.
520 . ‡a"Sitting in the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture is a rough cotton bag, called "Ashley's Sack," embroidered with just a handful of words that evoke a sweeping family story of loss and of love passed down through generations. In 1850s South Carolina, just before nine-year-old Ashley was sold, her mother, Rose, gave her a sack filled with just a few things as a token of her love. Decades later, Ashley's granddaughter, Ruth, embroidered this history on the bag--including Rose's message that "It be filled with my Love always." Historian Tiya Miles carefully follows faint archival traces back to Charleston to find Rose in the kitchen where she may have packed the sack for Ashley. From Rose's last resourceful gift to her daughter, Miles then follows the paths their lives and the lives of so many like them, to write a unique, innovative history of the lived experience of slavery in the United States. The contents of the sack--a tattered dress, handfuls of pecans, a braid of hair, "my Love always"--speak volumes and open up a window on Rose and Ashley's world. As she follows Ashley's journey, Miles metaphorically "unpacks" the sack, deepening its emotional resonance and revealing the meanings and significance of everything it contained. These include the story of enslaved labor's role in the cotton trade and apparel crafts and the rougher cotton "negro cloth" that was left for enslaved people to wear; the role of the pecan in nutrition, survival, and southern culture; the significance of hair to Black women and of locks of hair in the nineteenth century; and an exploration of Black mothers' love and the place of emotion in history."-- ‡cProvided by publisher.
60000. ‡aAshley ‡c(Enslaved person in South Carolina)
60010. ‡aMiddleton, Ruth Jones, ‡d1903-1942 ‡xFamily.
650 0. ‡aAfrican American women ‡vBiography. ‡0(CARDINAL)293525
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650 0. ‡aHeirlooms ‡zSouth Carolina ‡xHistory.
650 0. ‡aMemory ‡zUnited States.
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