All That She Carried

The Journey of Ashley's Sack, a Black Family Keepsake

By: Tiya Miles

in a display case in the smithsonian’s national museum of african american history and culture sits a rough cotton bag, called ashley’s sack, embroidered with just a handful of words that evoke a sweeping family story of loss and of love, passed down through generations.in 1850s south carolina, an enslaved woman named rose gave this sack filled with a few precious items to her daughter, ashley,...