Life is full of intrigues. Racial prejudice is alive and well, but so is discrimination against anyone who is “different,” whether that person is a teenager, someone who thinks his own political thoughts, is of another religion, or even parts his/her hair a different way. We can find all kinds of reasons to hate other people and make fun of them.

I don’t know how this quilt could NOT be considered social commentary. After all, it did not spring out of a vacuum but from a long history of this “Golliwog” doll image and all that it connotes.

Yet, sometimes, it is nice to turn our backs on what appears to be racism and just appreciate someone’s efforts, taking them at face value, and with a sort of innocence that does not bring our own racial awareness of past discriminations to the forefront.

Thank you for your thoughtful note. ~Pat~

The Gollyville One quilt is interesting for many reasons, one of which is its fundamentally different representations of blacks and whites. Note that the white figure, a little girl, is depicted in a more-or-less straightforward manner. She’s fairly realistic, if simplified.

The black figures, however, aren’t realistic, simplified depictions of humans who happen to have dark skin. They’re broadly drawn caricatures with “darky iconography” harking back to blackface minstrels: wild wooly hair, thick red lips, jet black skin. There’s even a mammy figure wandering around in the scene.

The contrast between the two styles is jarring and, I think, very telling.

The Gollyville story associated with the quilt kit says “These friendly souls were happy-go-lucky in nature, some were even devilish in spirit, but they were mostly a kind-hearted race who loved having a good time.” This strikes me as being just a short step from suggesting they had natural rhythm and loved to dance. Later the story mentions “mammy’s” and “piccaninny’s” coming to live in Gollyville, a cringe-inducing business at best.

When I first saw this quilt, I assumed that it was some form of commentary on the thinly-disguised racism that is part of our society. Perhaps the judges did too, or simply didn’t have time to think about it in the very brief time they have to look at each quilt.

Unfortunately, I now think that if there was commentary, it was unintentional and not of the nature I originally had in mind.