Collection

Mt. Willing Quilters

Title
Mt. Willing Quilters
Description

The Mt. Willing Quilters Collection includes audio recordings of Lowndes County, Alabama's Mt. Willing Quilters, collected and recorded under the direction of Beth McGinnis, 2023-2024.

In 2005, quilters in the unincorporated community of Mt. Willing, Alabama, began working together to create quilts for charity, a ministry developed in partnership between the Snow Hill Christian Church and Lowndes County Community Life Center. The group’s Sew Their Names project, begun in 2021, commemorates the lives of enslaved people in Alabama’s Black Belt and beyond, unearthing from obscure historical records the names of the enslaved and embroidering those names into original quilts. The Sew Their Names quilts have traveled as a touring exhibit, and the Mt. Willing Quilters work with both the descendants of enslaved persons and the descendants of slaveholders to research, honor, and sew the names of enslaved individuals connected with participants' own families.

As they sew, the Mt. Willing Quilters also join their voices in song, drawing from a deep reserve of traditional Black spirituals and gospel standards. The music in this collection offers an audio complement to the group’s extraordinary works of visual art and historical remembrance. The recordings were conducted by Beth McGinnis, Mallory Morgan, and Judge Susan Walker, 2023-2024, and are presented here in collaboration with the Mt. Willing Quilters.

The Mt. Willing Quilters are featured in two episodes of McGinnis’s podcast, Hear in Alabama, released in February 2026 and streaming here. See also McGinnis’s article “‘Knitted Together: Quilting and Singing in Mt. Willing, Alabama,” which appeared in the 2025 issue of the Alabama Folklife Association’s journal Tributaries (pages 6-31). McGinnis's documentation of the quilters' music was supported in part by a Cauthen Fellowship from the Alabama Folklife Association.

For more on the Mt. Willing Quilters and Sew Their Names project, please visit www.hopewellproject.net/sew-their-names.

Special thanks to Pastor Dale Braxton, Minister Mary Godfrey, and all members of the Mt. Willing Quilters, including:

Bessie Mae Brooks
Mary Hayes
Paulette Miller
Gloria Reed
Floretta Timmons
Mary Godfrey
Bircher Shanks
Vera Shanks
Mercedes Braxton
Fannie Ingram
Mary Smith
Mattie Bell Robinson
Bettie Rudolph
Rebecca McMeans
Arwilda Goldsmith
Annie Stiles
Maxine Similton
Odell Managan
Donald Carter
David Sellers
Doris Hayes

Individual audio tracks may be accessed throughout this collection. For a continuous streaming playlist of all tracks in the collection, visit https://www.southernmusicresearch.org/items/show/2682.

Note: Recordings, images, text, and all other materials in this collection are made available here for educational and research purposes. No content may be reproduced without written permission and appropriate citation. For inquiries, please email contact@southernmusicresearch.org.

Collection Items

  • Item

    Mt. Willing Quilters: "Oh, How I Love Jesus"



    Mt. Willing Quilters, "Oh, How I Love Jesus." Recorded by Mallory Morgan and Susan Walker, Lowndes County Community Life Center, Lowndes County, Alabama, August 27, 2023. Recording courtesy Beth McGinnis.
  • Item

    Mt. Willing Quilters: "One Day at a Time"



    Mt. Willing Quilters, "One Day at a Time." Recorded by Mallory Morgan and Susan Walker, Lowndes County Community Life Center, Lowndes County, Alabama, August 27, 2023. Recording courtesy Beth McGinnis.
  • Item

    Mt. Willing Quilters: "Pray On, My Child"



    Mt. Willing Quilters, "Pray On, My Child." Recorded by Mallory Morgan and Susan Walker, Lowndes County Community Life Center, Lowndes County, Alabama, August 27, 2023. Recording courtesy Beth McGinnis.
  • Item

    Mt. Willing Quilters: "I'm Satisfied With Jesus"

    Mt. Willing Quilters, "I'm Satisfied With Jesus." Recorded by Mallory Morgan and Susan Walker, Lowndes County Community Life Center, Lowndes County, Alabama, August 27, 2023. Recording courtesy Beth McGinnis.

  • Item

    Mt. Willing Quilters: "Glory, Hallelujah, I Know the Storm Is Passing Over"

    Mt. Willing Quilters, "Glory, Hallelujah, I Know the Storm Is Passing Over." Recorded by Mallory Morgan and Susan Walker, Lowndes County Community Life Center, Lowndes County, Alabama, August 27, 2023. Recording courtesy Beth McGinnis.

  • Item

    Mt Willing Quilters: "Jordan River, I'm Bound to Cross"

    Mt. Willing Quilters, "Jordan River, I'm Bound to Cross." Recorded by Mallory Morgan and Susan Walker, Lowndes County Community Life Center, Lowndes County, Alabama, August 27, 2023. Recording courtesy Beth McGinnis.

  • Item

    Mt. Willing Quilters: "While the Blood Is Running Warm in My Veins"

    Mt. Willing Quilters, "While the Blood Is Running Warm in My Veins." Recorded by Mallory Morgan and Susan Walker, Lowndes County Community Life Center, Lowndes County, Alabama, August 27, 2023. Recording courtesy Beth McGinnis.

  • Item

    Mt. Willing Quilters: "Won't It Be Grand (Just to Go Home to Live With Jesus)"

    Mt. Willing Quilters, "Won't It Be Grand (Just to Go Home to Live With Jesus)." Recorded by Mallory Morgan and Susan Walker, Lowndes County Community Life Center, Lowndes County, Alabama, August 27, 2023. Recording courtesy Beth McGinnis.

  • Item

    Mt. Willing Quilters: "Precious Lord"

    Mt. Willing Quilters, "Precious Lord." Recorded by Mallory Morgan and Susan Walker, Lowndes County Community Life Center, Lowndes County, Alabama, August 27, 2023. Recording courtesy Beth McGinnis.

  • Item

    Mt. Willing Quilters: "Soon-a Will Be Done with the Troubles of This World"

    Mt. Willing Quilters, "Soon-a Will Be Done with the Troubles of This World." Recorded by Mallory Morgan and Susan Walker, Lowndes County Community Life Center, Lowndes County, Alabama, August 27, 2023. Recording courtesy Beth McGinnis.

  • Item

    Mt. Willing Quilters: "Keep on Marching, Children of God"

    Mt. Willing Quilters, "Keep on Marching, Children of God." Recorded by Mallory Morgan and Susan Walker, Lowndes County Community Life Center, Lowndes County, Alabama, August 27, 2023. Recording courtesy Beth McGinnis.

  • Item

    Mt. Willing Quilters: "Glory, Hallelujah, Since I Laid My Burden Down"

    Mt. Willing Quilters, "Glory, Hallelujah, Since I Laid My Burden Down." Recorded by Mallory Morgan and Susan Walker, Lowndes County Community Life Center, Lowndes County, Alabama, August 27, 2023. Recording courtesy Beth McGinnis.

  • Item

    Mt. Willing Quilters: "He Knows (My Blessed Savior Knows)"



    Mt. Willing Quilters, "He Knows (My Blessed Savior Knows)." Recorded by Mallory Morgan and Susan Walker, Lowndes County Community Life Center, Lowndes County, Alabama, August 27, 2023. Recording courtesy Beth McGinnis.
  • Item

    Mt. Willing Quilters: "I Will Trust in the Lord until I Die"

    Mt. Willing Quilters, "I Will Trust in the Lord until I Die." Recorded by Mallory Morgan and Susan Walker, Lowndes County Community Life Center, Lowndes County, Alabama, August 27, 2023. Recording courtesy Beth McGinnis.

  • Item

    Mt Willing Quilters: "I'm Going Home on the Morning Train"

    Mt. Willing Quilters, "I'm Going Home on the Morning Train." Recorded by Mallory Morgan and Susan Walker, Lowndes County Community Life Center, Lowndes County, Alabama, August 27, 2023. Recording courtesy Beth McGinnis.

  • Item

    Mt Willing Quilters: "Praise Him" / "Jesus Is a Rock in a Weary Land" / "Hush, Hush, Somebody's Calling My Name"

    Mt. Willing Quilters, "Praise Him (Jesus Blessed Savior Is Worth to Be Praised," "Jesus Is a Rock in a Weary Land," and "Hush, Hush, Somebody's Calling My Name." Recorded by Mallory Morgan and Susan Walker, Lowndes County Community Life Center, Lowndes County, Alabama, August 27, 2023. Recording courtesy Beth McGinnis.

  • Item

    Mt. Willing Quilters: "Down By the Riverside"

    Mt. Willing Quilters, "Down By the Riverside." Recorded by Beth McGinnis, Lowndes County Community Life Center, Lowndes County, Alabama, March 28, 2024. Recording courtesy Beth McGinnis and the Mt. Willing Quilters.

  • Item

    Mt. Willing Quilters: Prayer & "This May Be the Last Time"

    Mt. Willing Quilters, prayer and "This May Be the Last Time." Recorded by Beth McGinnis, Lowndes County Community Life Center, Lowndes County, Alabama, March 28, 2024. Recording courtesy Beth McGinnis and the Mt. Willing Quilters.

  • Item

    Mt. Willing Quilters: "I Know I Been Changed"

    Mt. Willing Quilters, "I Know I Been Changed." Recorded by Beth McGinnis at the Lowndes County Community Life Center, Lowndes County, Alabama, March 18, 2024. Recording courtesy Beth McGinnis and the Mt. Willing Quilters.

  • Item

    Mt. Willing Quilters: Sewing Session (3/28/24)

    Mt. Willing Quilters, sewing session recorded by Beth McGinnis, Lowndes County Community Life Center, Lowndes County, Alabama, March 28, 2024. Recording courtesy Beth McGinnis and the Mt. Willing Quilters.

    This recording reflects the flow of singing in a single quilting session, as participants take turns "throwing out" songs. Conversation, laughter, and prayer are interspersed throughout, along with brief interview segments conducted by McGinnis. 

    A full song list, with corresponding start times, is provided below.

    This Little Light of Mine (0:00)
    I Have Decided to Follow Jesus (1:58)
    Come and Go To That Land Where I’m Bound (3:51)
    Interviews (8:38)
    Swing Low, Sweet Chariot (15:18)
    The Old Rugged Cross (15:47)
    Go Tell It on the Mountain (17:06)
    Blessed Assurance (18:00)
    Down at the Cross (20:45)
    Jesus on the Main Line (21:56)
    What Do You Want the Lord to Say (24:35)
    I’m Bound for Mt. Zion Way Out On the Hill (26:45)
    I’m Wrapped, I’m Tied, Tangled All Up in Jesus (29:25)
    I Know I’ve Been Changed (31:18)
    Amen (34:30)
    Walk with Me (36:40)
    There’s a Storm out on the Ocean (40:40)
    Look Where He Brought Me from (40:48)
    Oh Lord, Have Mercy (46:38)
    Welcome and Updates from the Sew Their Names Project (48:55)
    Now Let Us All Go Back to the Old Landmark (52:55)
    (Jesus Is Calling) Wade in the Water (Save Your Sinful Soul) (55:30)
    Do You Know Him (Jesus Christ God’s Son) (57:40)
    Come Where the Dewdrops of Mercy Shine Bright (We’ll Walk in the Light) (1:01:10)
    Oh, How I Love Jesus (1:02:50)
    Good Lord, I Have Done What You Told Me to Do (1:04:35)
    Jesus, Oh What a Wonderful Child (1:08:35)

View all 25 items

Collection Tree

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