Estelle Witherspoon – a spirited organizer and civil rights activist who marched alongside Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Senator John Lewis, and others from Selma to Montgomery in 1965 – helped transform economic reality for Black, women artisans and their families in Wilcox County, Alabama.
Â
As founding member and Board President of Freedom Quilting Bee (a Black women-owned quilting co-op), she oversaw its marketing and sales for over 20 years until her retirement. Mrs. Witherspoon shared her knowledge and skills – and became trusted in her community for doing so. She harnessed her communication, accounting, mathematics, and writing skills to manage and advance FQB.
Â
Under her leadership, FQB was one of the 22 initial signatories and founding members of the Federation of Southern Cooperatives. Of those charter members, FQB was the smallest and the only one run entirely by women. She enacted Principle 6: Cooperation Among Cooperatives by establishing partnerships with the Gee’s Bend quilters; Quilting Bee and Artisans Cooperative in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania; the Alabama Cooperative Association; among others.
Â
In 1966, Mrs. Witherspoon secured the first-ever auction of Gee’s Bend quilts in New York City. She professionalized the artisan members’ work so that FQB could secure contracts with the likes of Sears and Bloomingdale’s. She secured loans that allowed FQB to purchase industrial machines. The co-op bought 23 acres of land, which was quite an accomplishment for Blacks in general at that time, but especially for sharecroppers and women! Under her management, FQB came to employ more than 150 people, providing secure income to Black and women-led households. By its financial peak in the 1980’s, FQB was the largest employer in its area. In some cases, FQB wages helped double families’ incomes.
Â
Mrs. Witherspoon shared the benefits of FQB’s success with the broader community. The co-op established a day care center and afterschool programs that were accessible to all members of the community. FQB also shared their assets by making their buildings accessible to the community, and by selling 8 lots of their land to families who had been evicted from sharecropping because they registered to vote and/or attended a civil rights meeting.
Â
Estelle Witherspoon’s legacy goes beyond rectifying the economic injustice and deprivation of the communities she served. FQB’s success helped achieve recognition and respect for the quilters’ artistry. Today, quilts hang in prestigious museums in the US and abroad. Mrs. Witherspoon’s induction into the Co-op Hall of Fame provides a chance to honor her light - not only her foresight, leadership and marketing skills, but also her dedication, and cooperative spirit.
Photo Credit: John Reese, Birmingham, Alabama Public Library Archives, 1980