For Generations, African American Women Have Used Quilting as a Powerful Tool of Survival, Resistance, and Artistic Expression
Colony Little, ARTnews
November 2022
Southern quilting collectives, including Gee’s Bend and the Freedom Quilting Bee, both in Alabama, preserved the lineage of the craft while creating an economic platform of self-reliance and political engagement for their members.
Inspired by a 1965 visit from Martin Luther King, Jr., who encouraged the women of Gee’s Bend to participate in the civil rights movement, the Freedom Quilting Bee was formed in 1966. By selling their handmade quilts, the collective raised essential funds that were funneled back into the community and invested into civil rights activism.