Gee's Bend quilters collaborate with Target on nationwide Black History Month collection

An authentic Gee's Bend quilt typically costs anywhere from $500 to $13,000, but thanks to a new, nationwide collaboration with Target, interested buyers have a few more attainable options to support the rural Alabama quilters.

The massive retail corporation recently launched its Gee's Bend by Target collection in celebration of Black History Month, which has been in the works since 2022. Items for sale include throw blankets, hoodies, tote bags, tumblers and jackets featuring the geometric quilting patterns unique to Wilcox County. Prices range from $5 for a quilted pouch to $40 for a blanket.

"The average person in Alabama, let alone in America, has never heard of Gee's Bend, and now all of a sudden, we're in a major box retailer," fourth-generation Gee's Bend native Teresa Fuller said. "Target has introduced our legacy to the world. We've gone from tradition to fashion, and that's a major thing."

Gee’s Bend is a historically Black community situated between Selma and Camden, and the quilting tradition there has been passed down through generations. It was born of necessity in the 1800s when slaves on a nearby cotton plantation made quilts to keep warm, and during the Civil Rights Movement, selling the quilts became a means for financial independence.

Natives of Gee's Bend often talk about what it was like to grow up under the quilts that made their hometown famous. Sprawling colors constantly flew above them while their mothers, aunts and grandmothers patchworked the fabric together in a bold, varied pattern.

Over the last several decades, artists, museums, historians and collectors have praised the work of the women in Gee's Bend, hanging their quilts in places like the Whitney Museum of American Art and creating inspired fashion partnerships with brands like with Greg Lauren and Chloe.

Still, the area is home to fewer than 300 people, and over half of them live in poverty. Since the nonprofit Freedom Quilting Bee Legacy launched in 2020 to protect the area's history, residents said they've started to see a shift. The local quilters' partnership with business accelerator nonprofit Nest has also played a major role in supporting the community's advancement. In fact, Fuller said the team at Nest facilitated the contract between Target and the Gee's Bend quilters to allow the replica manufacturing of the three patterns that appear in the Black History Month collection.

"We're excited about the exposure because we are trying to grow. We are trying to continue our tradition and continue the legacy that has been established for us and share it with the world," Fuller said. "This collaboration has benefitted the community as a whole."

Fuller's mother, Caster Pettway, is one of the quilters featured in the collection, and Fuller helps her run the business side of things. Alongside Pettway, the other quilters involved in the collaboration are Delia Thibodeaux, Tinnie Pettway, Claudia Pettway Charley and Francesca Charley. Each woman's name and photo is featured on the tag of the item she helped create.

With the newfound attention brought to the area on account of the Target collection, Fuller said all Gee's Bend quilters are seeing increased traffic to their Etsy shops, where they sell the quilts and sometimes other goods. Community leaders like Freedom Quilting Bee Legacy volunteer Kim Kelly said they are expecting an increase in tourism traffic through the community as well — including during the annual Airing of the Quilts Festival in the fall.

"We're planning on that," Kelly said. "We are doing our best to provide as much access for the community, but into the community, so that people there can experience some some wealth growth and have the things that they know and do well be celebrated more than just one day a year."

The Gee's Bend by Target collection is available online and in stores. To purchase goods from the Gee's Bend quilters directly, you can visit their e-commerce shops on Etsy, and to follow along with the events and offerings from the Freedom Quilting Bee Legacy, you can find the organization on Facebook.

Hadley Hitson covers children's health, education and welfare for the Montgomery Advertiser. She can be reached at hhitson@gannett.com. To support her work, subscribe to the Advertiser.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Gee's Bend quilters partner on Target Black History Month collection