As a founding member of AFRICOBRA, Jae Jarrell became recognized for constructing garments that incorporate painted motifs and design elements inspired by African garments and informed by Black history and culture. Gent’s Great Coat, which she created at the height of AFRICOBRA's activities in 1972, is a suede jacket with appliqué leather, and includes motifs present in a variety of traditions in African clothing design. On the occasion of this work's inclusion in a recent museum exhibition in Chicago, Jarrell was interviewed about the for an article in the New York Times, during which she said: “Our message of empowerment from then is still the same. We reflected, and still do, on our heritage, our roots and our strength. All too often we were thought of as being a people without a beginning or not knowing where our roots were.”