Today’s New York Times Magazine (Sunday, April 6, 2008 issue) includes a full-page print ad for ABC Carpet and Home. The ad announces rug designs based on the quilts stitched by four generations of African-American women in the rural town of Gee’s Bend, Alabama (now known as Pettway). Apparently, Gee’s Bend still generates a profit for those who’ve never threaded a needle.
Some background: Gee’s Bend is a rural community built on the site of former plantation properties owned by Joseph Gee and his relative Mark Pettway. Over the years the women of Gee’s Bend—descendents of slaves and tenement farmers—have created a remarkable variety of quilts. (more…)
bordertalksblog.com 