On November 15, Dr.Carolyn Mazloomi called and told me of Roland Freeman's plan to curate an exhibition, titled "Quilts for Obama: Celebrating the Inauguration of our 44th President, featuring 44 invited quilt artists. It would open on January 11 at the Historical Society of Washington, DC (K Street at Mt. Vernon Square) and run until January 31. Well, I knew MY plans for the next two weeks so when Roland called me a couple of hours later, I was prepared. I'd been a part of his "Communion of the Spirits" exhibition that traveled nationally January,1997-September,2001 and his international exhibition, "Testimony Through Art" which was exhibited in Cape Town and Pretoria, Republic of South Africa and Windhoek, Republic of Namibia between March and August, 2001. He told me that he wanted me to participate in this exhibition and that the quilts were due in Washington, DC on December 15. I immediately answered, "I am leaving town next week to spend Thanksgiving with my children and their families, will leave there on Saturday for a week at Myrtle Beach,SC, will return home on Friday afternoon and leave on Saturday morning to attend the SACS-Council of Colleges Conference in San Antonio,TX. I will not get home until December 11 so, I just cannot do that!" With no break in the conversation, Roland said, "That's not what Obama's slogan says!" I replied, "Well, let's hang up then so I can get started!"

I became fascinated with cowrie shells in the early 1990s when I learned of their history. The cowrie was used as primitive money as far back as BC and was once the most popular currency in Africa. The Europeans were astonished that the Africans preferred cowrie shells to gold coins. The use varied by country, but by the 1700s, the Maldives were most associated with the practice. Cowrie inflation eventually caused the Maldives to issue coins, but, shell trade for slaves (I prefer captured Africans or the enslaved) continued in West Africa until 1807 when the British stopped the slave trade and the need for cowries.