All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley's Sack, a Black Family Keepsake

At the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, you may encounter a rough, embroidered cotton bag in a display case, known as Ashley's Sack. Passed down through generations from antebellum South Carolina to the present, this sack inspired historian Tiya Miles to unearth the people who passed this keepsake along. Ashley's Sack is a testament to the power of relationships and familial love that slavery was unable to destroy, to the resourcefulness of generations of women who fought to preserve their culture. All That She Carried is a creatively narrated true story, made all the more profound through its connection to this still-present keepsake. A beautiful book, and a must read for scholars of Black history and American history.