March 26, 1966

A group of black craftswomen officially established the Freedom Quilting Bee cooperative in Rehoboth, Wilcox County. Often confused with the nearby Quilters of Gee’s Bend, the Freedom Quilting Bee formed to raise money for poor black women in the Black Belt during the civil rights movement. The cooperative hosted several auctions in New York under the leadership of Estelle Witherspoon as the price of the quilts rose from $10-15 to more than $100. The quilts, with patterns reflecting at least a century of black quilting in the area, sold at Bloomingdale’s, were featured in Life magazine and exhibited at the Smithsonian Institution.

Read more at Encyclopedia of Alabama.

Estelle Witherspoon poses with her mother, Mama Willie Abrams, in front of one of their quilts. (Photograph by Nancy Callahan, Encyclopedia of Alabama)

Members of the Freedom Quilting Bee, of Alberta, Wilcox County, made a series of quilts with this star pattern to raise funds for a day-care center. This one was made circa 1970. (Photograph by Nancy Callahan, Encyclopedia of Alabama)

The Coat of Many Colors, or Joseph’s Coat, design is named for the biblical story of Joseph. It was popular among the New York patrons of the Freedom Quilting Bee. This version is from 1981. (Photograph by Nancy Callahan, Encyclopedia of Alabama)

For more on Alabama’s Bicentennial, visit Alabama 200.