Gee's Bend Quilts at The Cummer Museum in Florida

Twenty-one quilts by the Gee's Bend Quilters are on display at the Cummer Museum and Gardens in Jacksonville, FL through August 2, 2009. Click here to see local First Coast News segment of the exhibit. (Photo from museum website, Quilt by Mary Lee Bendolph) Enjoy!

All 3 Gee's Bend Lawsuits - DISMISSED

There will be no jury trial in the cases of Annie Mae Young, Loretta Pettway, and Lucinda Pettway Franklin vs. Tinwood Ventures, et al.

Chief United States District Judge Callie V. S. Grandade declared all three Gee's Bend lawsuits "DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE." This means there was a good reason to dismiss the cases. The plaintiffs, in this case Mrs. Young, Mrs. Pettway, and Mrs. Franklin, can not refile a "new lawsuit within the same jurisdiction based on the same facts, or bring this same issues forward..." What we don't know is if the cases were dismissed because settlements were reached. You may recall that all parties were in discussions as late as last month.

Bob Johnson for the Associated Press reported on Aug 25, 2008:

"Attorneys for both parties asked for the lawsuits to be dismissed but they would not give any details of how the claims were resolved....

"The lawsuits claimed that three of the quilters — Annie Mae Young, Lucinda Pettway Franklin and Loretta Pettway — were cheated financially by Atlanta art dealer William Arnett, his sons, Paul and Matt Arnett, and Tinwood Ventures of Atlanta.

The Arnetts helped establish a collective for the quilters and promoted and marketed their works to a wider audience.

U.S. District Judge Callie Granade of Mobile dismissed the suits in an order issued Monday and said the parties would pay their own legal costs.

An attorney representing the quilters, Peter Burke of Birmingham, said the lawsuits "have been resolved." He would not elaborate.

An attorney for the defendants, Greg Hawley of Birmingham, would only say that his clients "are pleased the cases have been dismissed."

Franklin claimed in her lawsuit that the Arnett family stole from her two quilts that she said were more than 100 years old. Pettway claimed she was tricked into signing a copyright document, even though she could not read."

Gee's Bend - Franklin case Headed for Jury Trial

Looks as if a settlement in the case of Lucinda Pettway Franklin, plaintiff, vs. Tinwood Ventures, et al, defendants (civil action 07-0438-CG-M) could not be reached. The case is headed for a jury trial.

According to an order dated today by US Magistrate Judge Bert W. Milling, Jr., the parties could not come to a resolution. As a result, the stay on the case has been lifted. "Dispositive motions" are to be filed by August 22, 2008. Final pre-trial disclosures are to be made by mid-December 2008. A final pre-trial conference with Chief Judge Callie V. S. Granade is set for early January 2009. Jury selection is set for the morning of February 3, 2009 in the US Courthouse in Mobile, Alabama.

Here's a quick recap of the Franklin case from a past Black Threads post dated July 24, 2007:

You may recall from the Ben Raines article, "Lucinda Pettway Franklin filed suit ... against the Arnett family, promoters of the nationally recognized Gee's Bend quilt shows, charging that the Arnetts stole the two oldest quilts known to come from Gee's Bend. The quilts, more than 100 years old, were made by Franklin's great-grandmother, Sally Pettway, from worn-out slave clothes and bits of fine fabric cast off from Pettway's masters while she was still a slave."

The Raines article went on to say: "Franklin said Matt Arnett came to her home in Mobile and asked to borrow the quilts for one month so they could be photographed and included in a book about quilts. She remembered he became very excited when he saw the quilts for the first time. That was two years ago. Since that time, Franklin said, Arnett has told her the quilts were destroyed in a fire, accidentally thrown away, ruined in a flood, lost or on his desk ready to be mailed to her. " (A third quilt was also loaned.)

The disputed quilts were later returned to Franklin's attorneys - after the law suit was filed and after a public news conference where appraisals by Holly Anderson and Julie Silber indicated the quilts were not made during slave times or worth very much money.

So - back to the Judge's order. The request by attorneys for the Defendants to dismiss said - in a nut shell - that 1) the appraisals indicated the quilts were not made during slave times, 2) the quilts were not worth enough for the courts to have jurisdiction, and 3) the quilts are now returned.

In the brief submitted by Mrs. Franklin's attorneys, they argue the suit is about an alleged "conversion," which occurred two years ago when the defendant Matt Arnett refused to return the three quilts to Mrs. Franklin and deprived her of the use and enjoyment of the quilts. Mrs. Franklin, as a result, is entitled to compensatory damages. The damages would be based on Mrs. Franklin and the priceless, valuable family history the quilts represented to her - not any appraised value of the quilts. In addition, the brief argues, Mrs. Franklin has a claim for punitive damages. The brief explains that punitive damages are based on the "wrong to the plaintiff" as well as based on "the necessity to prevent similar wrongs from being committed in the future." The combined damages could be an amount over $75,000, the minimum to fall into the jurisdiction of the Court.

Interestingly, the briefs filed by attorneys for Matt Arnett and the other Arnett defendants, "strongly contest" that Mrs. Franklin is entitled to any damages - but does say that the complaint does meet the jurisdictional requirements of the Court.

You can read other posts about the Lucinda Pettway Franklin lawsuit by clicking here. No word yet on the outcome of settlement discussions in the Annie Mae Young or Loretta Pettway. I'm betting these two cases will also go to a jury trial. What do you think?

Judge in Gee's Bend Cases Grants One Final Extension

Yesterday counsel in the three cases of Annie Mae Young, Loretta Pettway, and Lucinda Pettway Franklin each vs. Tinwood Ventures, et al had a conference call with the Court yesterday.

According to the order signed by United States Magistrate Judge Bert W. Milling, Jr., the Court has "granted the parties one final extension (the Court's emphasis, not mine!) in each of these actions." Judge Milling has given the parties until 2pm on August 1, 2008 to report "on their efforts toward a global settlement or resolution of all three actions."

I'm going to assume it's a typo, but the date about judge's name on the online version of the order says June 24, 2008. The date of the filing is July 24, 2008 - and the Court had previously ordered the parties to get back to him by July 24.

This case has been in the Court system for just over a year now. Let's see what happens in just one more week.... August 1. What do you think? Will the three cases be settled or will they go to a jury?

July 24 - new target date in Gee's Bend Cases

United States Magistrate Judge Bert W. Milling, Jr. heard from counsel in each of the three Gee's Bend Cases (by Annie Mae Young, Loretta Pettway, and Lucinda Pettway Franklin) requesting an additional 45-day suspension in all deadlines so all parties can continue talking... perhaps towards a settlement in all three cases. As a result, Judge Milling has set a new date of July 24, 2008 to hear from counsel again. Stay Tune!

As mentioned before, you can follow the Gee's Bend suits yourself by reading the actual court filings. As mentioned in previous posts, PACER - "Public Access to Court Electronic Records ... an electronic public access service allows users to obtain case and docket information from Federal Appellate, District and Bankruptcy courts, and the U.S. Party/Case Index via the Internet." There's a fee of about 8 cents per page to access the records.

Judge Grants All Concerned in Three Gee's Bend Cases an Additional 45 Days

United States Magistrate Judge Bert W. Milling, Jr. granted the request for an additional 45 days for all parties in the three Gee's Bend lawsuits by Annie Mae Young, Loretta Pettway, and Lucinda Pettway Franklin to continue to talk. The parties have until, no later than June 9, 2008, to "immediately notify the Court if any of these actions settled."

In related news, let's go back to April 14, 2008. The Gee's Bend Foundation filed a motion to intervene as a defendant in the cases of Loretta Pettway and Annie Mae Young. The purpose was to "adjudicate its liability, if any." From reading the publicly available court filings, the argument is that: 1) the suits by Mrs. Young and Mrs. Pettway "center around purported wrongdoing... dealing with the display and licensing of certain quilt images owned by" the women; 2) the two quilters seek to enforce their copyrights; 3) the "Foundation has received monies from TVI from these purportedly unauthorized licenses (TVI refers to one of the defendants, Tinwood Ventures, Inc.). The Foundations is looking to "prevent exposure to double liability." Chief US District Judge Callie V. S. Grande has indicated the motion will be granted unless any objections are filed by April 28.

As mentioned before, you can follow the Gee's Bend suits yourself by reading the actual court filings. As mentioned in previous posts, PACER - "Public Access to Court Electronic Records ... an electronic public access service allows users to obtain case and docket information from Federal Appellate, District and Bankruptcy courts, and the U.S. Party/Case Index via the Internet." There's a fee of about 8 cents per page to access the records.

Gee's Bend Quilter Annie Mae Young Reaches Settlement Agreement with Visa

On April 15, Gee's Bend quilter Annie Mae Young reached a settlement agreement with Visa. As a result, she "dismisses her claims with prejudice against defendant Visa," according to a document filed with the US District Court for Southern District of Alabama (civil action no. 07-317). No details of the settlement were released.

You can follow the Gee's Bend suits yourself by reading the actual court filings. As mentioned in previous posts, PACER - "Public Access to Court Electronic Records ... an electronic public access service allows users to obtain case and docket information from Federal Appellate, District and Bankruptcy courts, and the U.S. Party/Case Index via the Internet." There's a fee of about 8 cents per page to access the records.

Sen. John McCain Visits Gee's Bend Quilters; Judge's Order Due April 24 in Gee's Bend Lawsuits

Senator John McCain on the campaign trail stopped by Gee's Bend, AL yesterday and enjoyed "Do Lord, Remember Me" sung by several Sistah quilters. You can hear them sing on this CBC video. Or, you can read the report and see the video from this link. Apparently, the Senator also left a check for the quilters:

“I have heard of this wonderful place and I know that it has a place in history. I know Dr. [Martin Luther] King was here before the march in Selma, so they stopped running the Ferry. Now the ferry is running and I intend to ride the ferry back,” he said. McCain then pulled a check from his wallet and handed it to the quilters, toured the facility and shopped," said Senator McCain.

Local news station WSFA Channel 12 reports the Senator purchased three quilts. The New York Times reports that quilts similar in the large size that the Senator purchased sale for $2,500 each. You can see the WSFA report on YouTube. You can also hear who the Sistah quilters and local leaders felt about this political visit.



More news should come from the Gee's Bend area later this week as Judge Bert W. Milling Jr. had given the parties in the cases of Young, Pettway, and Franklin until Thursday, April 24, 2008 to file "a joint status report on their efforts towards a global settlement of all three actions. Do share your thoughts on Senator McCain's visit to Gee's Bend!

Gee's Bend Children's Picture Book in October

As mentioned before here on the blog, there will be a children's picture book on quilting in the Gee's Bend area - Stitchin' and Pullin' : A Gee's Bend Quilt by award-winning author Patricia McKissack and illustrated by sistah quilter Cozbi A. Cabrera. According to Amazon.com, the book is about:

MOTHER AND DAUGHTER, grandmother and granddaughter, aunt and niece, friend and friend. For a hundred years, generations of women from Gee’s Bend have quilted together, sharing stories, trading recipes, singing hymns—all the while stitchin’ and pullin’ thread through cloth. Every day Baby Girl listens, watches, and waits, until she’s called to sit at the quilting frame. Piece by piece, she puzzles her quilt together—telling not just her story, but the story of her family, the story of Gee’s Bend, and the story of her ancestors’ struggle for freedom.

You can pre-order your copy today. Enjoy!

Gee's Bend - Judge Grants Motion to Suspend Deadlines

Last week United States Magistrate Judge Bert W. Milling, Jr granted defendants' joint motion for suspension of deadlines in the three separate suits by Annie Mae Young (Plaintiff), Loretta Pettway (plaintiff), and Lucinda Pettway Frankin (plaintiff) vs. Tinwood Ventures, et al. (Defendants). The suspension will give all parties the chance to get together and settle matters among themselves. The judge further required the parties to notify the Court immediately if any of the actions in the various suits are settled. Judge Milling has given the parties until Thursday, April 24, 2008 to file "a joint status report on their efforts towards a global settlement of all three actions." (photo The Quilts of Gees Bend collection from Kathy Ireland Worldwide at Heimtextil.)

You can read more about the three suits by clicking here and reading past blog posts.

So, what do you think? Will the parties settle within the next 150ish days?

You can follow the Gee's Bend suits yourself by reading the actual court filings. As mentioned in previous posts, PACER - "Public Access to Court Electronic Records ... an electronic public access service allows users to obtain case and docket information from Federal Appellate, District and Bankruptcy courts, and the U.S. Party/Case Index via the Internet." There's a fee of about 8 cents per page to access the records.

The Bends of Life - Gee's Bend in Dance

Visiting Cincinnati January 25th or 26th? Visit the Contemporary Dance Theater for “The Bends of Life…Surviving, Sewing, Standing” This dance was conceived by Thaddeus Davis, Tanya Wideman-Davis, and Patdro Harris. According to the theater's website:

"Wideman/Davis Dance ... will present "Bends of Life," a short trip through American history as reflected in the Southern black community of Gee's Bend, Alabama. Set to sacred and folk music, the piece follows two characters from slavery to sharecropping, receiving the right to vote, and the creation of functional quilts being sold as art."

The dance company's website says it's about bringing "different artists together to create dialogue about the human condition, by using dance as its central voice but not the sole voice."

"The Bends of Life" was performed in 2005. In an email today, Thaddeus Davis shared that the dance will also visit the St. Joseph's Historical Foundation in Durham, NC on April 1 - 6, and the Spectrum Dance Theatre in Seattle, WA on May 18 - 24. Enjoy!

2008 - Gee's Bend Children's Book

Random House will publish a children's book titled "Stitchin' and Pullin': A Gee's Bend Quilt" sometime in 2008 - probably the Fall season. The book is written by award-winning author Pat McKissack and illustrated by Sistah quilter and dollmaker Cozbi S. Cabrera.

According to WorldCat, the online library catalog, Stitchin' and Pullin' is about "... a young African American girl [who] pieces her first quilt together, the history of her family, community, and the struggle for justice and freedom in Gee's Bend, Alabama unfolds."

Gee's Bend - July Selection set for Nov '08

Chief U.S. District Judge Callie V. S. Granade has ordered a jury trial for November 2008 in both the Pettway (Civil Action No. 07-0423-CG-M) and Young (Civil Action No. 07-0317-CG-M) cases. Jury selection for both cases is set to begin November 5, 2008 in Selma, AL. As a result, the pretrial conferences are rescheduled for early October 2008.

As mentioned previously, PACER - "Public Access to Court Electronic Records ... an electronic public access service allows users to obtain case and docket information from Federal Appellate, District and Bankruptcy courts, and the U.S. Party/Case Index via the Internet." There's a fee of about 8 cents per page to access the records.

Gee's Bend - Ties and Christmas Ornaments

A quilter recently sent me a link to the Milwaukee Art Museum website. There's a number of Gee's Bend quilt-themed gifts available.... How about a Gee's Bend Christmas ornament for $18.50 (assuming one is not a museum member) or a men's tie, based on the quilt designed by Annie Mae Young, for $43.00... or 100% silk scarf for $52, again based on Annie Mae Young's quilt designs.

Gee's Bend - Bias in QNM Magazine?

I love Quilters Newsletter magazine. Have a subscription to it - look forward to it each month. This month, however, I was shocked. Have a look at the December 2007 issue on page 10 - 11. There's an article in the "What's New" feature titled "Gee's Bend Suits Raise Concern." The article goes on to briefly describe the suits brought by Annie Mae Young, Loretta Pettway and Lucinda Pettway Franklin. Three different lawsuits. Then the article talks about a June 2007 meeting the Arnetts had with the Gee's Bend quilters. The article ends with a quote from the an attorney for Tinwood Alliance and a link to the Tinwood Alliance website.

There's not one direct quote from the side of the quilters or the attorneys for any of the three women who filed suit. Heck, there's even a sub-heading under the article's author that says: "The quilters are grateful for the money, respect, and praise they have received, and they feel that the lawsuits have weakened their community."

What bias! I expect better from QNM - I expect QNM to balance the article with quotes from the women who have filed suit. To blanket-ly say (no pun intended!) that "The quilters are grateful ...." is to dismiss the three courageous women who filed suit, in my opinion.

For those who are interested, the phone number for QNM at CK Media is 303-215-5600 or 1-800-881-6634. The email address is: Questions@qnm.com Type Letter to Editor in subject line.

Gee's Bend Quilter Annie Mae Young - PreTrial Date Set

You may recall Gee's Bend Quilter Annie Mae Young filed suit against William Arnett, Paul Arnett, Matt Arnett, Tinwood Ventures of Atlanta, Kathy Ireland Worldwide, Shaw Living, and Visa claiming she was "cheated financially by her promoters and corporate clients."

The Pre-Trial Conference is set for August 11, 2008 in Mobile, AL and all parties are to be ready for jury selection and trial. Should there be a trial, it is anticipated to last 5 - 7 days. Prior to the Pre-Trial Conference, there's a few other events anticipated to take place. One is discovery. Discovery is ordered to be completed by a date in late-March 2008, which is the time period that the status of Settlement talks must be filed with the Court's Clerk.

I've posted in this blog before how you can read the public documents for Annie Mae Young v. Tinwood Ventures et al Civil Action No. 07-317. PACER - "Public Access to Court Electronic Records ... an electronic public access service allows users to obtain case and docket information from Federal Appellate, District and Bankruptcy courts, and the U.S. Party/Case Index via the Internet." There's a fee of about 8 cents per page to access the records.

AT&T sponsors college tour Gee's Bend quilts

AT&T is sponsoring a college tour of selected quilts from Gee's Bend, according to a recent PR Newswire press release. The free tour stops will be open to the public and will include singing, poetry, and storytelling performances by the Gee's Bend Quilters Collective including Mary Lee Bendolph, Revil Mosely, China Pettway, Mary Ann Pettway and Florine Smith.

VIP tour receptions are scheduled for:

• Winston-Salem State University (North Carolina) - October 11, 2007
• Prairie View A&M University (Texas) - October 16, 2007
• Wayne State University (Detroit, MI) - October 29, 2007

AT&T is also featuring online ads with a quilting theme to sell more high-speed internet access. You can see one of two video ads at http://att.jpdmi.com/nowplaying/35 (you need to have Windows Media Player).

Gee's Bend - Franklin case - Trial in April 2008?

Attorneys for Lucinda Pettway Franklin and the Arnetts met earlier this month as ordered by U.S. Magistrate Judge Bert W. Milling, Jr to outline a few specifics of the case. Mrs. Franklin claims two family quilts over 100 years old were stolen. (The quilts were returned within days of the suit being filed.)

Both sides have agreed they would be ready for trial by early April 2008 and anticipate the trial would last from 2 - 3 days, not including jury selection. All discovery is anticipated to be completed by early January 2008. At this time, it's too early to evaluate whether a settlement can be agreed to. Stay tune!

Question: How would you feel about being on this jury?

Commodification of Gee's Bend - paper

A friend forwarded to me an interesting, rather scholarly article by Victoria F. Phillips, a professor at the Washington College of Law, American University. The paper is titled "Commodification, Intellectural Property and the Quilters of Gee's Bend" in the Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law (vol 15, no 2). The 18 page paper includes the following sections:

• The Women of Gee's Bend and Their Story
• The Struggle for Civil Rights and the Freedom Quilting Bee
• The Tinwood Alliance Partnership
• Commodification Theory
• Commodification Theory and the Quilters of Gee's Bend

The paper never really defines what "commodification" means - for the lay reader. A quick look says commodification means "to turn into a commodity" or to "make commercial." The paper explains that according to Harrison Arnett, Business Director , Tinwood Ventures (p. 369, footnote 75 and 76) "the quilters retained all the rights to the quilts made after 1984 and that Tinwood pays the community a royalty on all licensed uses for the quilts made before 1984, even though Tinwood owns the underlying intellectual property rights to these."

The author looks at various theories of commodification to see if any apply to the Gee's Bend quilts and quilters. She supports the paper with insights from Tinwood Ventures and many scholars. Unfortunately, the author does not appear to have spoken with any of the Gee's Bend quilters for their opinion. She concludes (p. 376) that the arrangement the quilters have with "Tinwood Alliance, even though achieved by contract, may well be a model worth studying ..." It's an interesting read. Enjoy!

Gee's Bend Quilt Mural Unveiled

Back in June, the inaugural Wilcox Riverbank Festival was held in Alabama. Several hundred folks came out for a jazz concert, a folk life festival, and fireworks display. The Folk Life Festival was held at Blackbelt Treasures in Camden, AL and featured potters, basket maker, a bluegrass/gospel band and, of course, quilting. Sistah quilter Deborah Carter of Newbern gave a demonstration (photo left). There was also an unveiling and dedication of a mural commemorating the Gee's Bend US Postage Stamps. The mural was created by stain glass artist Tyree McCloud of Boykin. The mural features a quilt by quilter Lottie Mooney. There may be more murals to come.