The Underground Railroad and Quilts: The Secret Quilt Code
A Commentary
or
How Does Telling Lies Honor Black History?
by Patricia L. Cummings, 2007
The questionable story of the secret quilt code of the Underground Railroad has taken wings and continues to be taught as fact, in schools, on government-connected websites, in the media, and at public programs, by presenters who, for a little pocket change, would like the public to think that the faux information they are spewing forth is the Gospel Truth. If we continue to repeat a falsehood often enough, does that make it true? Absolutely not!
Pernicious and Persistent
Like the pernicious and persistent infectious diseases of the past, which did not yet have a cure, the secret quilt code continues to perpetuate itself like bacteria in a petri dish. The trend has only become worse ever since 1999, when the book that started this whole mess, was published.
Data Interpretation Questioned
Serious quilt scholars and historians, and others in academia, as well as quilt guild members, have not only questioned the validity of the details of the secret quilt code, they have, in fact, discounted them as plausible, based on reason, facts, and knowledge of not only historical quilting, but the actual events surrounding slave escapes during the time of the Underground Railroad.
A Bunch of Racist White Women?
A little while ago, it came to my attention that word was being circulated that the only people who oppose the secret quilt code's validity are racist, white women who are interested in quilt history, and who belong to a certain mailing list online. Surprisingly, these remarks are attributed to a person associated with a museum, a fact that is even more shocking.
Why is the Code Perpetuated in the Media?
The answer to that is simple. The media loves a "good story," and the secret quilt code makes "good" copy. Of course, Americans who have not heard of this intrigue before are completely fascinated and want to embrace this story as a way to "honor" their fellow Black Americans, especially during the month of February, Black History Month.
New Hampshire
I am happy to live in New Hampshire, the Granite State. Our former statesman, Daniel Webster, once said, "There is nothing more powerful than the truth." At the New Hampshire Historical Society, in January 2007, a program was presented about a real person, Harriet E. Wilson, (1825-1900), a mulatto woman who lived in Milford, New Hampshire.
Fern Cunningham's statue dedicated to African-American, Harriet E. Wilson
The Book, Our Nig
Her book, Our Nig, is the first novel written by an African-American, that was published in the United States. She has been called her the "Mother" of the African-American novel. A newly-erected statue honors her memory. New Hampshire is proud to posthumously claim her as one of our own, as truly, she was a New Hampshire native.
This is how to honor Black Americans: acknowledge their true accomplishments and respect the fact that they achieved them, in spite of any personal experiences and tribulations. New Hampshire has the right idea.
The Art of Being Fanciful and Creating Stories (Myths)
Of course, we cannot blame the writers of the book Hidden in Plain View entirely for creating false history that is now passed along as fact. The book is, after all, based on the oral testimony of Ozella McDaniel Williams, a quilt vendor who is responsible for having shared the fanciful "secret quilt code" with Jacqueline Tobin, co-author of the book.
The now deceased Ozella was nobody's dummy. She was a graduate of Howard University with a degree in law. Little did she know what her entertaining "code" would unleash, in terms of a broader public deception. Some people want to interpret oral testimony as indisputable evidence. Looking to how "stories" have changed and have been embellished or otherwise have strayed from the facts, even in my own family, makes me aware that oral stories can, and will change, over time.
Blue in the Face
Since 2002, I have written newspaper and magazine articles about the reasons why the secret quilt code is simply not acceptable as history. The difficulty has been in combating a new myth when, at the same time, book writers, and the media, and the government, and individual presenters, have been so centered on disseminating information that is not factual and is not even plausible.
Like the blackflies that crawl up one's nose and into one's ears, and bite like the dickens in the spring, this subject keeps re-emerging, in a big way.
Every January and February, (the month to honor Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Black History Month), the academics and historians who are non-believers of "the code," will get on their high horses and try to set the record straight yet again, but with seemingly little effect. Nonetheless, we keep trying to correct the record because we care.
You Can't Mess With Beliefs
Like people with religious zeal, those who "believe" in the secret quilt code, will continue to do so. They are fervent. Just don't ask them WHY they believe, or WHY they reject reason, because they will not be able to tell you. After all, faith is not based on facts, but on blind belief.
Quilt History
Having studied quilt history now, for a very long time, it is hard for me to realize that a lot of people, in the general public, know so little about the subject of quilts. Furthermore, some folks have very closed minds when it comes to wanting to hang on to what they think they do know.
On a recent television broadcast, an all-white, whole cloth quilt that had won a contest was shown. So what did one of the media people say?
One person wondered where the color was...where were the patches...weren't quilts supposed to have color and patches? Of course, in a thirty second slot or so, there is simply no time to describe the long and complex history of quilts.
The whole scene on television was frustrating to watch, aggravated only by the announcer grabbing the quilt, not once, but twice, and flipping it back on its display hanger to reveal two people standing behind it, presumably there to catch the quilt should the stand blow over in the wind. (The scene was shot outside.)
Education Is Sorely Needed
To those of us who love quilts and their history, it seems that more education is needed for the general public. They remain dismally unaware of so many aspects of quilts, their history, and their proper care. Of course, for those who buy a "quilt" at a department store for $19.95, $29.95, or $49.95, or even $99.95, quilts are just some old thing to be tossed around and to lay on, perhaps even under the car, when changing the oil. In other words, quilts seem to be utilitarian objects that are not very important.
The Secret Quilt Code Will Never Go Away
The secret quilt code is filling a need for stories in our society, and it has become so ingrained in our culture in the short time it has been perpetuated, my "belief" is that it will not ever go away. There is actually no harm in it, when the fictitious account is presented for what it is: an amusing and entertaining thought, nothing more...something that would have been enchanting, had it actually happened.
Quilt historians and Underground Railroad historians get upset when fiction is imparted as fact. There is a difference between the two words. The definitions of "fiction" and "fact" should be the first words that students in any social studies class look for in the dictionary.
Extremely Thrilled With New Discoveries
The work of the Harriet E. Wilson Project, which has brought her life and accomplishments to the forefront, is right on track with the kind of Black scholarship that should be happening more often.
An exciting new book, recently published, is called Martha Ann's Quilt for Queen Victoria by Kyra Hicks, another little known, yet true story. Anyone who loves history, particularly Black history will enjoy the book (which is reviewed elsewhere on this website.) For more information, click on our Site Map at the end of this article.
Other Related Articles and Information on This Website
Please check our Site Map or our front page (at the moment) for many more entries about the secret quilt code and the Underground Railroad, Mammy Quilts and Black Memorabilia, reviews of quilt shows mounted by Black guild members, African textiles, and songs related to freedom. Also, visit the page about "Our Nig," Harriet Wilson's book, to see some photos of the statue erected in her honor and to learn more about her life.
Overview of Our Nig" - Sketches from the Life of a Free Black by Harriet E. Wilson, the first novel published (in 1859) by a Black woman in the United States. The file includes information about her life, and more photos of her statue.
Mammy Quilts and Other Black Memorabilia: Artifacts of Prejudice, or Not? A discussion of material objects and their significance.
Three Additional Files About the Secret Quilt Code
The Secret Quilt Code and Black History Month - 2007
The Underground Railroad and the Question of Quilt Blocks Did quilts and/or quilt blocks really convey secret messages on the Underground Railroad?
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.
Quilt Show Reviews - Sisters in Stitches 2005 and Sisters in Stitches 2001
African or African Inspired Textiles -Collected African fabrics and more.
©Copyright 2007. Patricia L. Cummings, Quilter's Muse Publications, Concord, NH.