Stitching History: A Black History Month Quilt Honoring the Five Points West Regional Branch Library

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Photo of the quilt that the Five Points West Quilting Club made for the Five Points West Regional Branch Library. It features 9 quilts squares in black, green, yellow, and red colors. Some of the quilt squares have pictures of the library's previous locations and other quilt squares have symbols used on the Underground Railroad.

To commemorate 20 years of the Five Points West Regional Branch Library's current location, the library will host an open house on Friday, March 8, 2024, at 3:00 p.m.! We invite the community to celebrate this milestone with light refreshments.

In honor of this occasion, the Five Points West Quilting Club crafted a quilt that pays tribute to the library's current and previous locations.

During Black History Month, the quilting club collaborated to create a commemorative quilt that celebrates the library's rich history and the symbolism of African Americans' arduous road to freedom. Club members constructed quilt blocks representing patterns used during enslavement in the United States' Colonial period. Embedded messages in quilt patterns relayed information to enslaved people preparing to escape.

The Five Points West Quilt Club utilized three patterns in the library's quilt: the North Star, Bowtie, and Crossroads.

Quilt Pattern Meanings

  • North Star—The North Star signaled two messages: prepare to escape and follow the North Star to Canada. 
  • Bowtie—The Bowtie indicated the necessity to travel in disguise or to change from the clothing of an enslaved person to that of a person of higher status. 
  • Crossroads—The Crossroads referenced Cleveland, Ohio, the main crossroads with several routes to freedom. 

As we celebrate this milestone anniversary, we also look ahead to the future of our library.

With new challenges on the horizon and fresh opportunities awaiting, we are confident that the Five Points West Regional Library will continue to pursue its mission: to provide the highest quality experience to our community for lifelong learning, cultural enrichment, and enjoyment for generations to come.

The commemorative quilt will hang in the library's foyer starting Friday, March 8, 2024. Below is a historical timeline for the Five Points West Regional Library's current and previous locations. 

Historical Timeline

  • 1928–The Forthian Club sponsored a one-room library inside Fire Station Number 24. 
  • 1934–The library was named the Virginia Harmon Library in honor of a founder of the Forthian Club.
  • 1938–The library moved to the Central Park Community Center and became a branch of the Birmingham Public Library. 
  • 1942–Birmingham newspaper reported that the Central Library circulated more books than any other branch public library in the city.
  • 1983–The Five Points West Regional Branch opened on the old Britling Cafeteria West site with its current name, completing the Library Board's 1981 plan to build three large regional branches.
  • 2004–The new Five Points West Regional Branch opened on an abandoned grocery store site in January 2004. The facility has 30,000 square feet for library materials, children's services, computers, offices, workspace, and a 125-seat auditorium.

By Karen Jackson | Department Head, Five Points West Regional Branch Library

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