The Greene County Democrat

Tag: Freedom Quilting Bee Legacy

  • Alabama’s Freedom Quilting Bee Legacy Receives $1.15 Million Grant to Preserve Civil Rights Landmark and Expand Cultural Programming

    Alabama’s Freedom Quilting Bee Legacy Receives $1.15 Million Grant to Preserve Civil Rights Landmark and Expand Cultural Programming

    Media Contact: Jasmine Phillips Jones (jasmine@experiencelry.com)

    ALBERTA, Ala. (July 27, 2026) — Freedom Quilting Bee Legacy (FQBL) is pleased to announce it has received a $1.15 million grant from the Mellon Foundation to preserve and strengthen the historic home of the Freedom Quilting Bee while expanding the organization’s long-term capacity to steward this nationally significant cultural landmark. 

    The three-year grant, which runs July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2029, represents a transformative investment in both the preservation of the historic Freedom Quilting Bee headquarters and the future sustainability of the organization that carries its legacy forward. Founded in 1966, the Freedom Quilting Bee became a nationally recognized quilting cooperative that created economic opportunity for Black women in rural Alabama. Through their extraordinary artistry, entrepreneurship, and partnerships with national retailers, the women of the Freedom Quilting Bee generated income for their families while preserving a rich artistic tradition and advancing economic justice during the Civil Rights Movement. 

    “This investment from the Mellon Foundation is a powerful affirmation of the national significance of the Freedom Quilting Bee story,” said Kim V. Kelly, Executive Director of Freedom Quilting Bee Legacy. “It enables us to preserve this historic place while building the organizational capacity needed to ensure these stories continue to educate and inspire generations to come.” 

    Through the Humanities in Place grant, Freedom Quilting Bee Legacy will undertake critical work to upgrade the historic structure, ensuring that it can continue to serve as a center for exhibitions, educational programming, research, and community engagement. Planned improvements include modernization of essential building systems, accessibility enhancements, and rehabilitation that preserves the building’s historic character while preparing it for long-term public use. 

    In addition to investing in the historic building, the grant will strengthen the organization’s capacity by supporting the recruitment and hiring of a Development Director. This new leadership position will expand Freedom Quilting Bee Legacy’s fundraising and donor engagement efforts, broaden philanthropic support, and help secure the organization’s long-term financial sustainability.

    “The Mellon Foundation recognizes that preserving historic places also requires investing in the organizations that care for them,” Kelly said. “By strengthening our development capacity, we will be better positioned to cultivate new partnerships and resources that will sustain this important work well beyond the grant period.” 

    The award builds upon several years of investment by public and private partners in the Adaptive Reuse Project. Previous support from the Alabama State Council on the Arts, the Daniel Foundation of Alabama, and the Educational Foundation of America enabled significant improvements to the property, including renovation of the Rev. Lonnie Brown Jr. Learning Center, expansion of the site’s infrastructure, and completion of architectural plans for restoration of the building’s original roof design. Souls Grown Deep Foundation was an early funder whose support helped launch Freedom Quilting Bee Legacy. Today, that partnership continues through their contribution of original photographic documentation of the community and their curation of the exhibition currently on display. 

    By the conclusion of the grant period in 2029, Freedom Quilting Bee Legacy will have advanced the preservation of one of Alabama’s most important Civil Rights and folk art landmarks while establishing stronger organizational systems to support expanded exhibitions, educational initiatives, artist residencies, public humanities programming, and community partnerships. 

    About Freedom Quilting Bee Legacy 

    Freedom Quilting Bee Legacy preserves, interprets, and advances the history and enduring impact of the Freedom Quilting Bee. Through historic preservation, exhibitions, educational programming, and community partnerships, the organization celebrates the women whose artistry and entrepreneurship transformed their community and left an indelible mark on American history. To learn more about the Freedom Quilting Bee Legacy, visit http://www.fqblegacy.org

  • 2025 Airing of the Quilts Festival to be held October 4, in Gee’s Bend (Wilcox Co.) AL.

    The 2025 Airing of the Quilts Festival is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 4, in the Gee’s Bend community of Wilcox County. The event is free with a recommended contribution of $40 to support the Gee’s Bend quilt-making community. Photo courtesy of the Airing of the Quilts Festival

    The 2025 Airing of the Quilts Festival—set for Saturday, October 4, in the Gee’s Bend community of Wilcox County—promises to spotlight the area’s world-renowned quiltmakers while also celebrating the community’s cultural significance.

    Now in its fourth year, the 2025 Airing of the Quilts Festival added global sportswear brand Adidas as its presenting partner for an event that honors the living history of Gee’s Bend from the area’s origins to its significant role in the American Civil Rights Movement and its current fame as one of America’s most renowned artist communities.

    “The festival gives visitors the opportunity to meet quilters, learn about the area’s history, and become immersed in the area’s incredible cultural significance,” said Kim V. Kelly, executive director of the Freedom Quilting Bee Legacy.

    The festival, which was named to Garden & Gun magazine’s 2025 Bucket List, drew 2,100 people to Gee’s Bend in 2024, and organizers expect at least 2,500 visitors this year.

    Gee’s Bend quilters have garnered international fame for their unique quilt- making, and the festival honors the community’s history of quilt-making with interactive programming, food trucks, entertainment and live musical performances. Visitors to the Airing of the Quilts also take part in quilting demonstrations and storytelling from the descendants of generations of Gee’s Bend quilters.

    This year’s festival features the unveiling of an exhibition dedicated to Dinah Miller (née Jenkins), who was kidnapped in Africa and brought to Alabama in 1860 aboard the last known slave ship to enter U.S. waters, the Clotilda. The exhibit is titled “Between History and Memory: Dinah Miller’s Legacy in Gee’s Bend.”

    Miller settled in Gee’s Bend in 1890 and is the earliest known quilter in the area. Her descendants rank among the area’s most renowned quilters.

    “This new exhibition will clearly celebrate Dinah’s life, tell her unique and inspirational story, and honor her immense contributions to the Gee’s Bend community,” Kelly said.

    On October 2, during the week before the festival, Freedom Quilting Bee Legacy will also debut its newly designed quilt workshop/learning space and posthumously dedicate the facility to the Reverend Lonnie Brown Jr., a community advocate who passed away earlier this year. The facility was built thanks to funding from The Daniel Foundation of Alabama and a grant from the Alabama State Council of the Arts.

    The new workshop space will be open for use and tours during the
    festival. “This facility will give visitors an opportunity to sit down and learn about them, learn about their history and get an intimate lesson in their artistry throughout the year, not just during the festival,” Kelly said.
    The Airing of the Quilts Festival is hosted by organizing sponsors Freedom Quilting Bee Legacy, Sew Gee’s Bend Heritage Builders, and Souls Grown Deep. This festival is open to the public.

    The event is free with a recommended contribution of $40 to support the Gee’s Bend quilt-making community. For the second straight year, the festival will offer a hop-on/hop-off bus service for $25 that will visit the homes of Gee’s Bend quilters, as well as the festival.

    The Freedom Quilting Bee Legacy is an associate member of the Federation of Southern Cooperatives and Alabama State Association of Cooperatives. The Freedom Quilting, a women’s handicraft workers cooperative, was a founding member of both groups. The Federation helped nurture and support the Freedom Quilting Bee for many years and continues to support the Legacy project.