Last night, I was pleasantly pleased to learn that an article I had written for The Quilter magazine, entitled, “An American Quilt Myth? The Secret Code of the Underground Railroad” by Patricia L. Cummings, (NJ: All-American Crafts Publishing, Inc., 2004,) 72-75, was cited in a 748 page book titled, Encyclopedia of Slave Resistance and Rebellion by Junius P. Rodriguez which discusses the objections of historians and quilt scholars alike to the “secret quilt code” (on pages 407-409), as described by the 1999 book, Hidden in Plain View, written by Raymond Dobard, Jr., Ph.D. and Jacqueline Tobin.
The Monkey Wrench quilt block was one that was mentioned in the secret quilt code. The actual “Monkey Wrench” tool was not invented in America until 1850, making the block out of sync, time-wise, with the major, earlier time period when Black Americans escaped from slavery. This is just one of the discrepancies in the “secret quilt code,” as set forth by the late Ozella McDaniel Williams. Quilt block constructed by Patricia Cummings for educational purposes.
The Rodriguez book was published by Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc., as part of a series called “Greenwood Milestones in African American History, Ser.” The 10 digit ISBN number is 031333272x. The expanded version is ISBN 13: 9780313332722, and the book was published in December 2006.
On pages 407, 408 and 409, there is an entry by Glenn Reynolds. At the end of that information, the published works of Fergus Bordewich, myself, Leigh Fellner, Virginia Gunn, Marsha MacDowell, and Giles Wright, are cited.
Two sentences toward the end of the author’s remarks are presented here:
Although the authors’ (Dobard and Tobin) assertion that primacy in the case should be given to the rich tradition of African American oral history, the lack of supporting evidence remains a plaguing problem. Not only has the book failed to spark any verifiable stories from others to help validate Ozella’s (Ozella McDaniel Williams) claims, but the rich oral testimony collected from ex-slaves in the 1930s by Works Progress Administration workers also fails to mention the use of secret quilt codes. (etc.) – Glenn Reynolds
I am happy that someone has been listening because the proliferation of this quilt myth throughout our school systems, particularly, has been discouraging to scholars who have tried to apply logic and known facts about history and quilt history to this subject, to counteract Dobard’s “informed conjectures.”
Alas, there is a “Gott im Himmel!”
See my extensive writings on this subject, on our website. Here is one article: The Underground Railroad and Quilt Blocks. There is also an audio file: The Secret Quilt Code.
Patricia Cummings
Quilter’s Muse Publications
