HOUSTON – A group of Houston parents, students, and community members are using their creativity to protest the recent changes within Houston ISD.
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Through their love for the arts, they’ve stitched together a unique way to make their voices heard, using crochet to raise awareness about what’s happening in the district.
Jessica Catrett, founder of ‘Houston Stitching Together’, says the idea started with a simple conversation.
“It started out just a kind of a conversation with another parent, just messaging with somebody else around that time, and we were trying to think of something to do, and that parent suggested tying red ribbons on trees, and I was like, you know, that’s cool, have you heard of yarn bombing? And we just kind of, you know, I just kind of went with this and made a group, and a lot of people quickly joined it,” she said.
What started as a craft quickly turned into a movement. The group, now 200 members strong, has been closely watching HISD’s state takeover and is raising awareness ahead of the $4.4 billion bond that voters will decide on in November.
“We’ve just consistently seen that this current administration is really attacking any kind of creative thinking. Our teachers are not allowed to use their professional expertise to craft creative lessons with project-based learning and that sort of thing. There especially seems to be a disregard for our fine arts in schools by this administration,” Catrett said.
For Catrett, the last straw came when her son’s former fine arts school, Crockett Elementary, was designated as a New Education System (NES) campus.
“After that was announced, I just wanted to do something creative to protest what’s going on,” she said.
Using yarn bombing—bright, colorful displays of crocheted art—'Houston Stitching Together’ has found a way to peacefully protest the changes in HISD, hoping to spark conversation and raise awareness.
“Mike Miles and the Board of Managers just, they don’t listen to anything, and they keep making poor choices. So, we don’t trust Mike Miles with 4.4 billion dollars, and that’s why we’re putting these signs up,” she said.
The group’s art is now displayed in various locations across Houston, including Antidote Coffee in the Heights, Black Hole Coffee in Montrose, Class Bookstore in Third Ward and the Houston Federation of Teachers. On Sunday, community members made signs in Spanish in the city’s East End.
“We’ve gotten feedback that people are hearing it,” Catrett said.
‘Houston Stitching Together’ continues to organize yarn bomb displays across the city and welcomes anyone interested in participating.
“We are trying to be a movement where we have people from schools all over the district. In this room, you have people from a variety of schools. So, we try to do things in different areas of Houston so that people can be involved no matter what part of our district they are in,” Catrett said.
The group will meet this Sunday at the Houston Art Center from 1 to 3 p.m. No experience is necessary, and organizers are happy to teach newcomers how to crochet.