We Are Not There Yet

Object Details

Exhibition Label: Gwen Maxwell-Williams; born 1947, Starkville, MS; died 2020, Redmond, WA; We Are Not There Yet; 2012; cotton fabric suede, organza, and cotton batting; Gwen Maxwell-Williams designed this quilt to affirm the importance of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and to observe that workplace discrimination persists to this day. Maxwell-Thomas asks if we will ever get to a place where discrimination ceases to exist, adding “The pessimistic side of me continues to say, ‘No.’ America, prove me wrong!”; Established as a result of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the EEOC enforces civil rights laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee based on their race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth or related conditions, gender identity, and sexual orientation), national origin, age, and disability.; A pregnant figure, a figure kneeling to pray, a figure in a wheelchair, a figure using a walking cane, and a woman visualize all the people whose labor rights the EEOC is meant to protect.; Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Fleur S. Bresler, 2023.40.20; We Gather at the Edge: Contemporary Quilts of Black Women Artists, 2025

2012

Smithsonian American Art Museum

GUID (Link to Original Record): http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/vk7ef5f79b1-1533-45a3-9fdd-38793521b62a