When Adidas tapped the Quilters of Gee’s Bend for its 2025 Honoring Black Excellence campaign, the women behind the iconic quilts were stunned — not because their work lacked value, but because the world was finally catching up to what their community has always known. “It is an honor. We’re very excited,” Claudia Pettway Charley said. “It’s unbelievable in a way, because we never really know who wants to work with Gee’s Bend Quilters. The fact that I attended an HBCU , Alabama State University, and just to think that one day from that time up to now, that a company like Adidas would be honoring my community.” Photo: Adidas Emma Mooney Pettway echoed that sentiment, sharing how personal the journey feels. “Especially coming from a small rural place that, when I went to Alabama State, no one really knew where Boykin was. I would always have to refer it to a larger city,” she said. “To now come back full circle and to be representing one of the HBCUs and working with Adidas — it’s...