As the Project Threadways Symposium approaches, we are excitedly finishing up last minute details and getting the final product ready for you to view. These details include completing our exhibition, which will be on display at The Factory.

Our documents and oral histories will be presented and include quotes from former textile workers like Sherri Hipps, “It was like a family [at Tee Jays]. I started out when it was just one plant, down at the railroad tracks. And I stayed there long enough to see it grow. But we were all like a family, when something happened with one co-worker, we were all affected by it.”

These histories will be displayed alongside photographs from our friend and photographer Rinne Allen’s Harvest series. You will be able to view the entire cotton supply chain, textile manufacturer Tee Jays memorabilia and photographs, plus t-shirts from the archives of guest chef Bill Smith. This project is made possible by a grant from the Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area.

The goal of the symposium is to tell the stories of the people, the companies, and the communities as they really happened. As Natalie recently said in Travel + Leisure magazine, “There’s a lot of blood in this earth. Maybe this is one step toward healing.”