Potato sack dresses and infants swaddled in burlap; these are powerful stories told to me by my ancestors. Burlap is a fabric able to withstand great force and pressure; I used it in this artwork to symbolize the substance of many Black American experiences. Shackles spread across a humble garment which undergirds my story of a people exhibiting strength and transformation during subjugation. The bodice is formed with unresting burlap layers adorned with a blooming cotton brooch. Cotton is traumatic to the Black American memory. Embedded in the garment's legs are news clippings telling of atrocities against blacks, civil and racial unrest, empty congressional declarations and fragmented Bible text. Historical Icons make calls to action to change a system; soldiers undulate with farmers, teachers and black entrepreneurs to be defiant and courageous. Black Americans continue to pass the baton, share lessons of cultural love, family, and spirit in the face of American dogma.