What We’ve Carried at its heart honors Walnut Hills, one of Cincinnati’s oldest and most historically significant Black neighborhoods. Since the 1800s, Walnut Hills has been a place of refuge and possibility, a community where free Black residents built lives of purpose through abolitionist activism, education, resource-sharing, and artistic expression. Institutions like the Harriet Beecher Stowe House and the established roots here, and during the Great Migration, the neighborhood flourished as a hub of Black culture and innovation. 

Inspired by Maya Angelou’s book “Wouldn’t Take Nothing for My Journey Now” and the traditional Black American quilt blocks – Log Cabin, Half-Square Triangle, and Wishing Ring– What We’ve Carried reflects on the strength, memory, and the power of shared stories to carry us forward.

As the city continues to evolve, this work amplifies the enduring spirit of Walnut Hills, reminding viewers that the stories stitched into its fabric continue to shape Cincinnati today.