captioning sponsored by wnet >> sreenivasan: on this edition for saturday, march 26: president biden wraps up his trip to europe. >> we stand with you, period. >> sreenivasan: 30 years after bosnia's deadly war, ethnic divisions are re-emerging. and a group of alabama artisans find long-overdue recognition one stitch at a time. next on “pbs newshour weekend.” >> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by: sue and edgar wachenheim iii. bernard and denise schrtz. the cheryl and philip milstein faly. the anderson family fund. the estate of worthington the sylvia a. and simon b. poyta programming endowment to fight anti-semitism.

the estate of worthington mayo-smith. leonard and norma klorfine. the rosalind p. walter foundation. koo and patricia yuen, committed to bridging cultural differences in our communities. barbara hope zuckerberg. we try to live in the moment, to not miss what's right in front of us. at mutual of america, we believe taking care of tomorrow can help you make the most of today. mutual of america financial group: retirement services and investments. >> for 25 years, consumer cellular's goal has been to provide wireless service that helps people communicate and connect. we offer a variety of no-contract plans, and our u.s.-based customer service team can help find one that fits you. to learn more, visit www.consumercellular.tv. additional support has been provided by: and by the corporation for public broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the

american people. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> sreenivasan: good evening and thank you for joining us. in a speech in poland today, president joe biden called on the world to remain united saying russia will only end its attack on ukraine with “swift and punishing costs.” at the end of a three day visit to meet with european and nato leaders, the president-- standing outside warsaw's royal palace in the early evening-- recalled the collapse of the former soviet union after eastern european countries fought for freedom and democracy. >> it was a long, painful slog, fought over not days and months, but years and decades. but we emerged anew in the battle of freedom, a battle between democracy and autocracy, between liberty and oppression, between a rules based order and one governed by brute force. in this battle, we must be clear

eyed. this battle won't be won in days or months either. we need to steel ourselves for the long fight ahead. >> sreenivasan: and he had a message for the russian people. >> i am telling you the truth: this war is not worthy of you, the russian people. president putin can, and must, end this war. >> sreenivasan: and he ended with what a white house official later told reporters was not a call a for regime change, but was to make the point that putin cannot be allowed to exercise power over his neighbors or the region. >> for god's sake, this man cannot remain in power. >> sreenivasan: earlier, at poland's presidential palace, president biden reaffirmed the u.s. commitment to defend other nato countries including poland, during a meeting with president andrzej duda. after meeting poland's president, mr. biden visited a warsaw sports stadium being used to temporarily house and shelter

ukrainian refugees. >> we have full trust in you. >> sreenivasan: when asked what he thought about russian president vladimir putin's actions after eting the refugees, mr. biden responded: >> he's a butcher. >> sreenivasan: near the western ukraine city of lviv today, heavy smoke was seen rising on the outskirts of the city after three explosions. and north of ukraine's captial of kyiv, protesters at a pro- ukrainian rally chanted for russians to “go home” as gunfire could be heard in the background. so far, more than 3.7 million ukrainians have fled their country, two million of them to poland. the white house announced on thursday that the u.s. would take in up to 100,000 ukrainn refugees. in afghanistan today, women protested the taliban's decision to keep high schools closed to girls. several dozen students and teachers marched in front of the education ministry demanding secondary schools reopen to girls. the taliban initially said girls

would attend school, but abruptly reversed the decision on wednesday. the associated press, quoting anonymous sources, reported that taliban officials refused to allow dozens of women traveling without what it calls “male guardians” to board airline flights yesterday. and the u.s. government announced yesterday that it canceled meetings in doha with the taliban planned to address economic issues. a jury in denver awarded $14 million in damages to a dozen protesters injured during racial justice demonstrations after the death of geroge floyd almost two years ago. large, mostly peaceful protests in may of 2020 in downtown denver erupted into violence. the a.c.l.u. represented the injured protesters in a lawsuit that charged law enforcement with using excessive force and failing to issue warnings for crowds to disperse. none of the 12 protesters who suedas accused of violence. their injuries resulted from police use of everything from pepper spray, to firing a bag filled with lead from a shotgun that hit one of the plaintiffs

in the head sending him to the i.c.u. after the verdict, denver's executive director of public safety issued a statement acknowledging “that some mistakes were made” when police officers encountered extreme destructive behavior among mostly peaceful protesters. taylor hawkins, drummer for the rock band foo fighters, has died. hawkins, who played with the band for 25 years, was on a south american tour with the group and was scheduled perform last night in bogota, colombia. officials there said an ambulance was dispatched after receiving a report of a patient with chest pain. the band, which was inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame last year, was scheduled to perform at the grammy's next month, where they are nominated for three awards. the foo fighters released a statement on twitter calling hawkins' death a “tragic and untimely loss.” authorities in colombia say the cause of death is under investigation. taylor hawkins was 50 years old. for more national and international news, visit pbs.org/newshour. >> sreenivasan: the country

bosnia and herzogovina was created in 1992 from the remains of the former yugoslavia, setting off a sectarian war in which serb forces committed genocide against muslims, known as bosniaks. the war ended with the dayton peace agreement in 1995, which carved the country into two autonomous entities: the predominantly serb republika srpska; and the predominantly muslim-and-croat federation. though the war ended 30 years ago, as newshour weekend special correspondent kira kay reports, ominous sectarian tensions remain. this segment is part of our ongoing initiative "exploring hate: antisemitism, racism and extremism." >> reporter: march 1 is a national holiday for bosnia and herzegovina. it was 30 years ago that a referendum vote createis independent country. for many, the anniversary is a moment for reflection and pride. >> there is no bigger value for

me than my country. i was born here and i want that my children live here and i will live and die in bosnia. >> reporter: but this commemoration is ao a protest. >> we have mixed emotions, both happiness and sadness, because the young generations really want to live together and want to contribute to developing their country, but for the last 30 years politicians have led us on the wrong path. >> reporter: this anniversary is only celebrated in the bosniak and croat part of the country, because ethnicity permeate politics here. in republika srpska, not everyone wanted to talk about march 1. >> reporter: the war began when most of the serb community refused to be forced into the new country of bosnia. while there were war crimes on all sides, 80% of the estimated 100,000 people killed were muslim bosniaks. >> where we are standing right now used to be a mass grave. the remains of 600 people were

recovered from the village. >> reporter: kemal pervanic is one of thousands of bosniaks trying to resettle in the villages from which they were once cleansed, now officially sitting in republika srpska. >> there were two brothers from that house. one is in slovenia. the other one is in germany. >> reporter: while destroyed homes are being rebuilt, they are only occupied for short summer holidays, and the trauma is still fresh. as a young man, pervanic was taken to a concentration camp. >> and there is roslav zoric, my high school teacher, sitting behind a desk in his army uniform. i was lucky because he didn't send me to death. we'll never know how many people he sent to their death. >> reporter: in the first decade after the war, pervanic was optimistic about his country. >> positive changes taking place everywhere, state institutions being built, support from the international community. and then the same international

community probably believed, very naively, that local politicians would finish the job which they started. >> then local politicians, you know, started justifying war crimes, even worse, blaming people like myself for the conflict. and then you get a similar type of reaction from the other side. i can find a million reasons why i think there's, there's not going to be another conflict, but i'm t the one who decides whether there's going to be another conflict. >> reporter: in recent months, the country's uneasy political peace has started to crumble. in october, milorad dodik, who represents the serbs in the country's multi-ethnic presidency, made what some are calling secessionist threats: to establish independent veions of significant state bodies, including the council that appoints all the country's prosecutors and judges, and the army. then, republika srpska held an anti-terrorist exercise just outside predominantly muslim

sarajevo and on january 9, its independce day. dodik watched the parade with vinko pandurevic, a former bosnian serb army officer who was convicteof war crimes during the srebrenica genocide. rising tensions can be felt in the town of prijedor, in republika srpska, not far from kemal pervanic's village and where more bosniak muslims have returned. omer redzic is the imam at prijedor's rebuilt mosque. >> our mosque was t on fire and demolished in 1992. when we came back here, we found a parking lot in its place. >> reporter: on that january 9 celebration weekend, he was having dinner with his family when he saw torches and a parade on the street outside. he pressed record on his phone. >> a group of young men were chanting about ratko mladic, a war criminal convicted for genocide, and their ethnic hero.

they chanted “thank you mother of mladic” and “long live the general.” the message they sent is that bosniak muslims, after all our traumas, are not welcome in this city. >> reporter: around prijedor there were other troubling signs: an image of mladic stenciled behind a supermarket, his name graffiti-ed on a corner, and this new, nationalistic mural, blending serb world war ii heroes with the start of bosnia's ethnic war. >> reporter: there is a new genocide-denial law here, created by bosnia's high representative, a european official that still oversees the peace, but it has enflamed, rather than calmed, tensions, and allegedly made dodik begin his secessionist threats. he called the law a “nail in the coffin for bosnia.” snjezana novakovic-bursac is parliamentarian representing dodik's party. she recently introduced a re- written version of that genocide

law, calling the original discriminatory. >> our proposed law was intended to regulate the abuse of the term "genocide" because the term is used so broadly that it is devalued, and also it is very often used from the highest political offices to discredit the republika srpska and one ethnic group but my colleagues did not understand that, so my bill was not adopted. >> reporter: she says the current law is just another example of the international community eroding republika srpska's rights given to them by the dayton peace agreement, leading it to push for its own, independent institutions. the high representative has said that by creating a separate judiciary council, taxation system, army, that that is equal to secession. >> it is not equal to secession. these combined state

institutions were created under thname of better functionality and understanding, but instead brought us into conflict and non-functionality. even if we once agreed on something, we still have a right to withdraw again. >> it is sad that in the 21st century such a law needed to be imposed. >> reporter: imam redzic is grateful for the genocide-denial law, but he does worry about its impact. >> bosniaks have already felt what it's like when somebody wants to secede, and we know how it ended. i'm afraid that a new wish for such things won't be good, not only for bosnia and herzegovina, but for the whole continent. >> reporter: there are signs that the international community is waking up to bosnia's deepening crisis. diplomatic efforts have increased, and the u.s. has sanctioned dodik individually, for destabilizing and corrupt activities. and the european stabilization force that has beein bosnia since nato pulled out in 2004 has doubled its troop presence,

announced onhe same day russia invaded ukraine, a few hundred miles away. that war is further increasing concerns here. russia has a close economic and political relationship with republika srpska, and russia's ambassador to bosnia has just threatened the country with the "ukraine example" if it seeks to join nato. for now, bosnia celebrates its 30 years of independence, while waiting d watching for what comes next. >> sreenivasan: it's well known that jazz, blues, and other great forms of american music came from the musical traditions of african amerins in the deep south, but less recognized is the rich tradition of african american visual art from the same region. newshour weekend special correspondent megan thompson reports on work being done to ensure those artists' place in history, and to support a

special group of artisans who all hail from one remote town in rural alabama. this story is part of our seri“" alabama reckoning,” about work in that state to right the wrongs of the past. >> so, i'm just going to start at a certain angle here. over, under, over, under. >> reporter: stella mae pettway is finishing this quilt completely by hand, like she usually does. a bright mosaic of fabrics, some she's had around for years. >> yeah, a lot of flannel. and th i have a recycled sheet underneath there. this is all of my stuff. this is my good fabric. and this is not so good. >> reporter: pettway doesn't use patterns, she just dreams up her own designs. >> sometimes when you lay down and you sleeping, you have a good idea, this thought just come in your mind and you just get up and you do it. >> reporter: pettway's home is full of quilts, and she says each one tells a story. >> every time i look at this quilt, i think about my mother. this was my mother's favorite

color. >> reporter: her mother first taught her to sew when she was around sevenears old. her grandmother was a quilter, too. quilting isn't just part of her family, it's part of the entire community of gee's bend, alabama. >> well, i don't know what i'd do if i wasn't quilting. >> reporter: down the road, the practice has made it to its fifth generation. third generation quilter tinnie pettway taught her daughter claudia, and she taught claudia's daughter, francesca, who sews at night after classes at the university of alabama. >> she would give me two small little blocks because that was all i could really work with at the time. and then she would just tell me to simply put them together with the needle and thread. >> my mother, you know, she tells me i'm too slow. i'll start and she's like, "no, just give it to me." so, now i just pretty much design it and to pass it along to her because she's much faster than i am, okay. >> reporter: gee's bend- officially called boykin- is a small enclave of just over 200 people, tucked into a bend in the alabama river. surrounded on three sides by

water, there's just one road in, and a ferry that runs a few times a day. many residents are descendants of the enslaved people of the old pettway plantation, and they still share pettway as a last name. after emancipation, their ancestors stayed and farmed, but the community remained isolated and impoverished. the women of gee's bend worked in the fields, cared for children, cooked, cleaned and sewed quilts to keep their families warm. they used found materials and old clothes and created quilts with a unique and improvisational look. in the late 90's, an art dealer named bill arnett visited gee's bend and was captivated by the artistry he saw. another master quilter, mary margaret pettway, remembers when this stranger showed up in town wanting to buy her mother's quilts. >> he bought quite a few quilts, but what he wanted was the old raggedy quilts. >> reporter: to you, they're old and raggedy. >> i promise you they were. >> reporter: but to him?

>> apparently they were gold. >> reporter: arnett bought hundreds of quilts and curated an exhibition that became a sensation. the "new york times" called them, “some of the most miraculous works of modern art america has produced.” they were displayed at museums across the nation, pictured on postage stamps, published in books, and honored by the national endowment for the arts. the work of lucy t. pettway, mary margaret's mother, was acquired by famous museums like the met and the phillips collection. >> it's hard, it's hard to make a living. >> reporter: but the recognition and accolades never really translated into meaningful economic gains for most in the community, where many women are the sole breadwinners. the median household income here is around $12,000. >> in gee's bend, you've got a body shop, which may or may not employ you, and that's pretty much it. >> reporter: for most of her life, mary margaret had to drive long distances to faraway jobs. and, if she wanted to sell a

quilt, there wasn't much oppounity, either. she says buyers usually had to travel to the area to find one. >> you might get-- you might get a call. >> reporter: then, in 2010, bill arnett launched the souls grown deep foundation. at first, its focus was to continue to get the quilts the recognition they deserved. >> moving their works of art into museums is a first step. acknowledgment in the art historical canon is a first step. >> reporter: maxwell anderson is the president of souls grown deep. >> the next step, the one we're currently engaged in as well, is providing opportunity. our view is that the legacy of this tradition is exaordinary. and our goal is simply to provide economic benefit to make the community of gee's bend flourish. >> reporter: anderson has recently launched several new projects to do just that. >> right now everyone's working on a henley. >> reporter: last year, souls grown deep invested $600,000 in the clothing company paskho, which set up a sewing operation just a few miles from gee's bend

that now employs around 20 people. paskho founder and veteran clothing designer patrick robinson says his goal is to manufacture in american communities that need jobs. >> you have highly skilled, creative people, or people just really hungry for work, who want to learn those skills. and they're cut off from the economic system that so much of america is used to. the digital world, a digital economy, they're just completely cut off from that. >> reporter: the skilled seamstresses here have flexible schedules and can earn up to20 an hour, almost triple alabama's minimum wage. >> they pay a living wage. they don't mind ploying older women. >> reporter: but more opportunities were needed for the gee's bend quilters. stella mae pettway was making ends meet on social security and a small pension, and with her job as a substitute teacher. then the pandemic hit. >> no more sub work. all that extra income was gone.

>> reporter: to pay her bills and take care of her grandson, who lives with her, she resorted to short-term title loans. >> you get it this month, you got to run and pay it back next month, you lose, depending on what you borrowed, you losin' all the time. >> reporter: even though her work has hung in art galleries, most recently in london, stella says on the rare occasion she sold a quilt, she didn't think they were worth much. >> well, if i just got $100 or $200 i guess, i figured that was enough. >> reporter: then mary margaret pettway, now the chair of the souls grown deep board of directors, helped launch a partnership with an artisans' guild called nest, and the online retailer etsy. stella now has an etsy store called “georgie's way quilts,” named after her mother. this badge lets buyers know her quilts are the real deal. she charges a few hundred for a small quilt, and a few thousand for a large one. in the last year she's earned around $17,000, allowing her to fix her kitchen cabinets, buy a new washing machine, pay bills,

and even get a computer for her grandson. >> it felt great because, finally, it was my work out there, other people wanted it and they liked it. it made me feel excited, motivated. makes you feel real good. >> reporter: so, it sounds like this experience has also helped you learn and realize the worth of this work. >> it did. it really did. >> reporter: according to etsy, the 20 gee's bend quilters selling there have earned nearly half a million dollars among them since the launch last year. some quilters have also started receiving royalty checks, thanks to efforts by souls grown deep to secure copyrights for their artists. >> we have a routine: get up, eat breakfast, start sewing. >> reporter: these days, claudia pettway charley and her mother tinnie pettway struggle to keep up with the demand. sewing potholders for stores in alabama, quilts and wall art for etsy-- where they're nearly sold out-- and recently taking time

toeet a die-hard fan who bought one of tinnie's quilts and then traveled from florida to meet her. they now have fans in the fashion world, too. souls grown deep and nest pay claudia to work as a community manager, negotiating collaborations between the gee's bend quilters and big-name designers. in the last year, they've worked with greg lauren, nicole richie, and the luxury label chloé, which recently showed gee's bend designs at paris fashion week. >> with gee's bend being as popular as it is, we're at the forefront of something great. >> i remember back, the women never had money, no matter how hard they worked. now we got women with money. that's a great thing. >> right. freedom. freedom. >> that's exactly right. >> sreenivasan: that's all for this edition of pbs newshour weekend.

for the latest news updates, visit www.pbs.org/newshour. i'm hari sreenivasan. thanks for watching. stay healthy, and have a good night. ptioning sponsored by wnet captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org >> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by: sue and edgar wachenheim iii. bernard and denise schwartz. the cheryl and philip milstein family. the anderson family fund. the sylvia a. and simon b. poyta programming endowment to fight anti-semitism. the estate of worthington mayo-smith. leonard and norma klorfine. the rosalind p. walter foundation. koo and patricia yuen, committed to bridging cultural differences in our communities.

barbara hope zuckerberg. we try to live in the moment, to not miss wh's right in front of us. at mutual of america, we believe taking care of tomorrow can help you make the most of today. mutual of america financial group: retirement services and investments. additional support has been provided by: consumer cellular. and by: and by the corporation for public broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the american people. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you.

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