Back in February, I saw the press release about the new Harriett Powers’ stamps and immediately thought about writing a post about her (who knew it would turn into a WEEK of posts). I read that she was buried in Athens and wrote a post-it note to find her grave.

I tried Google to find the “Gospel Pilgram Cemetery”….

….and although there was a general area marked on the map, there was no true address. So, I put this idea on the back burner.

BUT, at the ceremony, I spent a lot of time speaking with Fred Smith and his wife Lee…..

Fred is a local historian, specializing in African American culture in our area. As we talked before the program, he mentioned that he was involved in organizing a new headstone for Harriet. When I expressed an interest, he immediately offered to take us after the program.

It was good to have guide…. I would NEVER have found it by myself.

As we walked along the lovely wooded paths, Fred would go into “tour guide” mode and tell delightful stories about some of the people buried there.

We arrived at her gravesite…..

I love that her epithet was “Wife, Mother, Quilter” !

The back of the tombstone was impressive….

I was interested in the picture of one of her blocks that was etched in the marble….

I don’t know how they made it look like fabric wrinkles, but it was impressive.

There was also a nice bench dedicated to Harriet…..

One interesting comment here….. as I finished this post, I noticed that her grave marker spelled her name with two “t’s”! I researched it a bit and found that most people use one “t”, but census records were often inconsistent for formerly enslaved persons, so either way works!

I had never heard of the “Women of Color Quilters Network”, but have found that they are an organization dedicated to creating guilds and quilting opportunities for African American women.

It was a quiet and reflective moment — standing in the place where a woman who left such an important mark on quilting history was finally laid to rest.

Harriet Powers lived through slavery, emancipation, hardship, and poverty, yet she continued creating quilts filled with faith, storytelling, and beauty.

Thanks for joining me this week as we explored the life of Harriet Powers!!

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Harriet Powers week continues…..

This past week, there was a very special event here in Athens, Georgia — the dedication ceremony for the new USPS Forever stamp honoring Harriet Powers.

The event was wonderful, starting with the Pledge of Allegiance by a retired USPS employee, and followed by an outstanding singing of the National Anthem by a current USPS carrier.

Mr. Fred Smith (a noted Athens-area historian) spoke eloquently about Harriet’s life and times here in Georgia, ending with this…

She did not require recognition to continue her work. She used what she had, where she was to say something that mattered. That is the lesson as relevant today as it was in her time.

Let us remember that these stamps are not an endpoint but a beginning. They invite conversation. They invite curiosity. They invite us to look closely at the life and contribution of those who have shaped our future in profound ways, even if they were not recognized in their own time.

Harriet Powers’ legacy is one of quiet strength and enduring creativity. It is a legacy that belongs not only to Clark County Not only to Georgia, but to the nation as a whole.

And may we carry it forward with the same care, intention, and vision that she brought to every stage of her life.

During the ceremony, speakers reflected on Harriet Powers’ extraordinary legacy and how her quilts transformed storytelling into art. Although only two of her quilts survive today, they remain among the most important examples of American folk art and African American quilt history.

After the unveiling……

….I was asked to speak as a present-day quilter and member of the Cotton Patch Quilters Guild.

It was especially moving to stand in the very community where Harriet Powers once lived and quilted. Her story reminds us that quilts are more than fabric and thread. They hold memories, preserve stories, and connect generations..

Next Friday, we will be back with more EASY free-motion-quilting that YES….you can quilt it yourself!!

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This week I have already mentioned Harriet Powers, so let’s learn a bit about her…..

Harriet Powers was born into slavery in rural Georgia in 1837. Although little is known about her early life, historians believe she learned traditional sewing and quilting skills while enslaved, likely combining African textile traditions with the practical quilting techniques common in the American South.

Although she had little formal education and lived during a time when African American women were rarely recognized for their talents, Powers found another language for storytelling — quilting.

After emancipation, she settled near Athens, Georgia, (where I live) where she farmed, raised a family, and continued quilting.

What made Harriet Powers extraordinary was her ability to turn quilts into storytelling art. Rather than creating only decorative bed coverings, she used fabric to record biblical stories, local legends, natural events, and personal beliefs. At a time when many African Americans had little access to written records or formal education, her quilts became visual histories stitched by hand.

Powers is best known for two surviving quilts. The first, often called the Bible Quilt, was completed in the 1880s….

She first gained public attention in 1886 when she entered her Bible Quilt in the Northeast Georgia Fair — sometimes referred to as the Athens Cotton Fair.

The quilt immediately caught the attention of a young white artist and teacher named Jennie Smith from the Lucy Cobb Institute in Athens. Smith later wrote that although she had seen many traditional quilts growing up in the South, she had “never seen an original design” or figures and living creatures portrayed in patchwork the way Harriet Powers created them.

At the fair, Smith asked to purchase the quilt, but Powers refused to sell it. Several years later, however, financial hardship forced her to reconsider, and she eventually sold the quilt to Smith for five dollars and some calico fabric. Before handing it over, Powers carefully explained the meaning of each panel, allowing Smith to record the stories and symbolism behind the quilt. Those notes became an important historical record of Powers’ work and artistic vision.

The fair appearance proved to be a turning point in Harriet Powers’ legacy. Without that exhibition, her quilts may never have been preserved or recognized as masterpieces of American folk art. Today, the Bible Quilt is part of the collection of the Smithsonian Institution and her “Pictorial Quilt”……

….hangs in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Despite her talent, Harriet Powers received very little recognition during her lifetime. She lived through slavery, poverty, and the difficult years following the Civil War. Yet through all of those hardships, she continued creating quilts filled with faith, imagination, and meaning. Only later did museums and historians begin to understand the importance of her work. Her quilts are now preserved and studied for both their artistic beauty and historical significance.

In 2026, the United States Postal Service honored Harriet Powers with a Forever stamp, recognizing her as one of America’s great artists and storytellers…..

Come back tomorrow to learn more about this!!

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