Mammy Quilts and Other Black Memorabilia

Artifacts of Prejudice, or Not?

by Patricia Cummings
photos by James Cummings

For the latest additions to this article, you may want to "refresh your screen."

Within the last year or so, I learned of the Jim Crow Museum that was founded by Dr. David Pilgrim, a sociology professor at Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Michigan. After much work toward his goal of setting up this museum, it is located right on the college campus. Among its missions is to collect and preserve material items that demonstrate racial prejudice toward African-Americans.

Black memorabilia has become hot in the collectibles market, but if you visit the Jim Crow museum site, you will begin to understand how material objects have been used, in the past, to degrade people and to make them objects of hatred and racial slander.

The essays there are eye-opening, to say the least. The first time I visited the site, I sent a letter to the founder and told him that I, too, unwittingly possess objects that perhaps could be considered, by others, to be items that denote prejudice. However, I have not owned them with that purpose in mind. I can bet that a lot of people have the same items or similar ones that they would never dream would be offensive to Black people, or would inadvertently continue a trend toward racial discrimination.

1950s DOLLS

I am writing this essay today partially because I want to show you the items that I own. The reader will have to decide whether or not these are examples of extreme prejudice. My point is that perceptions belong to "the beholder." To me, these items were, and are, innocuous. To someone else, they may seem hateful because of that person's experiences, or associations, or even, a broader knowledge of Black history.

Black dolls, front view

The first set of objects is a pair of dolls, Black children, a boy and a girl. I was given these two-sided dolls when I was a young child in the 1950s, and I have always loved them. They are both in very excellent condition because I always took good care of all of my toys and books. Notice how cute the backs of the dolls are: the girl is carrying her dolly, and the boy has a lollipop hidden behind his back.

Black dolls, back view

SALT AND PEPPER SHAKERS

The second set of objects is a salt and pepper shaker set, showing a maid (or a "mammy," and a butler, who are Black. David Pilgrim admits to having smashed to smithereens a Mammy salt shaker. I see these items in antique stores frequently, which is where I bought my set. Since I have no negative associations with the objects, I simply thought they were charming. My mother was born in Georgia and had told me very fond stories of the "mammy" who helped her mother with the children, when she was small. Since she left Georgia on a train headed north to Manchester, New Hampshire, when she was only five, it is a wonder that she recalled anything at all of her experiences in the south.

Perhaps, my perception of southern life is limited to "Gone With the Wind" type stories. What I view as "idyllic," was probably not the case, particularly for those who actually worked as servants. So the images are in contrast with reality, I suppose. The truth can be elusive when it is outside the realm of direct experience.

Black salt and pepper shakers

Dr. Pilgrim has a section about the Mammy stereotype on the Jim Crow museum website. He says that among the attributes of "Mammy" is that she is very Black, obese, if not morbidly obese, unlike real servants who were underfed, and she is desexualized. Pilgrim further remarks:

The de-eroticism of mammy meant that the white wife--and by extension, the white family was safe.

There are many worthwhile articles available to read, free of charge, at the Jim Crow Museum site. Consider making a donation to this unique museum.
http://www.ferris.edu/htmls/news/jimcrow/menu.htm

PRE-ASSEMBLED MAMMY APPLIQUES

On an online auction, a few years ago, I came across a vendor who was selling Black Mammy figures onto which she had appliquéd dresses made of feedsack cloth. I was fascinated by these pre-assembled pieces, at the time. I had been collecting feedsack items, and also I liked the Mammy figures, and thought that they were very colorful and unusual.

Mammy quilt top

Un-quilted Quilt Top Made With Pre-Assembled Mammy Figures

After I won the auction, the seller cancelled the transaction. After e-mails, back and forth, it became clear that she thought that I might make a "pattern" to sell, or would create other pre-assembled mammy appliqués to sell, as a competitor. Since I was collecting them for historical reasons, that was not the case. I promised her that I had no intention of doing that, and then she honored the terms of the auction.

Inasmuch as I wanted to see these appliqués preserved, I buttonhole-stitched the individual mammy figures, by hand, onto an ochre color cloth, perhaps inadvertently following the Pennsylvania tradition that dictates that a color known in the nineteenth century as chrome yellow, and that is now called yellow-orange (or "cheddar," to some), is considered to be a neutral color!

Update 1/9/07: The Mammy Quilt may have been based on the Aunt Jemima figure who had her roots in the minstrel show, and was discovered by two businessmen and adopted as their business logo. As a stereotypic representation of a Black woman and plantation days, the icon underwent many transitions in appearance, to the extent that in 1989 she appeared without the characteristic turban or head wrapping, but rather had a perfect coiffure and wore pearls.

The complete and fascinating account of Aunt Jemima can be read in The Art and History of Black Memorabilia by Larry Vincent Buster (New York: Clarkson Potter Publishers, 2000). In ending his discourse about "The Evolution of Aunt Jemima," Buster, in part, says this:

Others are mystified by her power to degrade, anger, and offend. To them, she is more an object of curiosity and whimsy, a charming conversation piece and a quaint symbol of what once was but is no more.

SIGHTING OF AN EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY MAMMY QUILT

To date, I have seen a photo of only one other appliquéd Mammy quilt. That is shown in a book entitled, Quilts: A Charm Book by Lilijana Baird (Quilter's Resource Publications, 1999), 164. The twin-size bed quilt is dated 1902. All of the mammy figures are all wearing turbans, and their dresses may also have been cut from feedsack cloth, according to the caption. The quilt is privately owned.

Who knows what was in the mind of "Lola," the quilter who took the time to appliqué that Mammy Quilt? Was she a person who just liked the mammy image, as much as I liked the salt and pepper shakers, or the dolls, or the appliqués? Or was that Mammy Quilt an act of hatred? I think not. Any quilt takes a lot of time to make, and most creative people would not want to waste their time or energy to make something ugly or something that is knowingly offensive. At least, that is my belief.

Updates 12/31/06 - A very kind reader has pointed out that a Mammy Quilt appears in The American Quilt Story: The How-To and Heritage of a Craft Tradition by Susan Jenkins and Linda Seward (Emmaus, Pennsylvania: Rodale Press, 1991), 100-101. A photo of a real life "Mammy," holding a young white baby, and a text description of Mammy quilts is on one page. On the next page is a full size view of the (knotted) textile, reportedly made by a sharecropper who used it. The quilt happens to be the same one that is only partially shown in the Baird book, mentioned above.

Mammy quilt

The photo of yet another Mammy Quilt that came to light during the Arizona Quilt Search Project is shown above courtesy of Pam Stevenson, and is described below.

One Mammy quilt was discovered in Arizona as part of their Quilt Search Project. That quilt made by Veda Buck Godard Hollowwa (1883-1970) was made in Camp Verde, circa 1935 and measures 69" x 88". The quilt is pictured on page 55 of the book, Grand Endeavors: Vintage Arizona Quilts and Their Makers by Pam Knight Stevenson and Helen Frost Young (Flagstaff, Arizona, Northland Publishing, 1992).

Audrey Waite, one of the participants on the Arizona Quilt Search Team states that Mammy Quilts seem to be (or have been?) popular in Arizona, Texas, and Mississippi. I did not readily find an example of one in the Mississippi Quilts state documentation book by Mary Elizabeth Johnson, nor in Lone Stars: A Legacy of Texas Quilts, 1836-1936 by Karoline Patterson Bresenhan and Nancy O'Bryant Puentes.

A Third Antique Quilt Found Online

Another reader has written to tell me about a Mammy quilt that was actually made, curiously enough, by an African-American mother-daughter team in Nicodemus, Kansas, during the 1930s. The quilt was advertised as having extensive provenance and measures 76" x 90". In the hands of a collector now, an image of the quilt is available to view online. See the link at the end of this article.

Thanks for the reports! I will continue to add more information, as it becomes available.

IN SUMMARY

In my opinion, material objects are not necessarily noxious, in and of themselves. Part of anyone's reaction to any object will be based on his or her knowledge and experience. If someone is particularly sensitive, then any object that depicts a racial theme can be seen as odious. To someone who hates Oriental people, even chopsticks could be offensive.

At this very moment, I am thinking of other cultures who are represented in textiles, in particular. What about all of the chinoserie prints of the nineteenth century, with the graphic artists only "guessing" at what they assumed a person from China to look like? What about the Mexican people with sombreros, and wide-hooped skirts, embroidered onto kitchen towels? There are countless examples of objects in our society that represent cultural stereotypes, some more reprehensible than others.

There are all kinds of reasons to be upset in this world. When there is an intentional slight or an intentional transgression against our psyche, then we have reasons to truly be angry. In the items that I have shown you here, I do not "read" them in the same way that others would. I am not Black. Maybe that has something to do with my perception and the fact that I can enjoy some of these items as simple objects and not look for some deeper meaning to interpret as being sinister or hateful.

The work of Dr. David Pilgrim and his contributors to his site is important. We need to be reminded of the roots of prejudice, where we have been, and how far we have come. In fact, my hope is that we have journeyed so far from where we were in the past, that we can not ever go back.

The danger, of course, lies in letting material objects trivialize a race or a nationality. As always, objective interpretation of material goods needs to be shared within a contextural framework.

"The Torch Is Passed"

No more Jim Crow. No more sitting at the back of the bus. No more signs, "Irish Need Not Apply." No more burning down of places where the Chinese workers lived in California. No more persecution of our most recent immigrants, including, but not limited to, Spanish-speakers.

No more hate-mongering, no more, no more. We have had enough hate. It's time to quit. It's time to accept others as they are, regardless of race, religion, nationality, or disability. If we cannot do that, then humanity, as a group, is a more miserable lot than one could ever imagine.

Like Martin Luther King, "I have a dream."

I hope that you have a dream, too. I sincerely think that we all could make the earth a better place, this transitional place we currently call home.

Never deny anyone else the same respect that you would like for yourself. While we should be aware of the past, insofar as it helps to shape the future, to dwell on its seamier aspects is to get bogged down in a place of no return. Keep those dreams, and keep moving ahead. The "torch (of freedom) has been passed," and it is our turn to carry it.

The purpose of this article is instruction and awareness. I would be happy to learn of any other Mammy quilts that you have seen, in person, or in books. I will also willingly publish any constructive, thoughtful, and respectful comments on the issues presented here. Contact: pat@quiltersmuse.com

OTHER TOPICAL ARTICLES OF INTEREST ON THIS SITE:

"Our Nig" - Sketches from the Life of a Free Black by Harriet E. Wilson, an overview of the first novel published by a Black woman in the United States. This book is of particular interest to me inasmuch as Harriet was born in Milford, NH, a town that recently honored her with a statue, as described in my article.

African or African Inspired Textiles

An American Quilt Myth? The Secret Quilt Code of the Underground Railroad added to site in November 2006, previously published in The Quilter magazine in 2002.

The Secret Quilt Code and the Underground Railroad Commentary: How Does Telling Lies Honor Black History?

Sisters in Stitches 2005: a quilt show review

Sisters in Stitches 2001: a quilt show review

Sampling of Songs Related to Freedom

I'll Fly Away a traditional Bluegrass/Gospel tune. For some, death was the final and ultimate release, so I'll Fly Away are symbolically representative.

Motherless Child. Slave children were taken away and brought to other plantations, never to see their parents again.

My Darling Nelly Gray written by Benjamin R. Hanby, in 1856, portrays the fictitious, but moving, story of a kidnapped slave. In this case, the song deals with loss of freedom, and a greater release from earthly cares, after death.

Follow the Drinkin' Gourd The Big Dipper in the North Sky was reportedly a guiding point for slaves, to help them reach Canada, and freedom. Whether this song was around during the time of the Underground Railroad has been questioned, in some circles.

Home Page Site Map

New Book of Note

Among the amazon book links in the right hand column, with appropriate hand-selected books, is a new book by Kyra Hicks: Martha Ann's Quilt for Queen Victoria, a true story about a little girl who makes a quilt for the Queen as a thank you gift for sending the British navy to patrol the coast of Liberia to prevent slave catchers from capturing people and forcing them back into slavery.