The Secret Quilt Code and Black History Month

The Secret Quilt Code
and Black History Month

A Wrap Up of The Controversy

by Patricia L. Cummings

February 28, 2007

On February 27, 2007, one day before the final day of February, Black History Month, I decided to take a quick look at three sets of key words in a Google search. First, I keyed in "underground railroad and quilts" and that yielded 461,000 entries. The one with the highest ranking was entitled, "Fun Math Problems." I did not look at the file. More and more schools are placing their own set of "lesson plans" for various subjects, in which they, in some manner, utilize the secret quilt code.

In number 2 slot was Kimberly Wulfert, Ph.D.'s website: www.antiquequiltdating.com/ugrr.html Kim is right when she states that she was the first to provide online information, on her website, for the general public about the "secret quilt code." In 2002, she linked to information about a talk given by Giles Wright, a New Jersey historian, and author of a book about New Jersey's Underground Railroad. He publicly called the quilt code, "nonsense," at a meeting of the Camden County Historical Society." See:

http://historiccamdencounty.com/ccnews11.shtml

Second Key Word Search

The second set of key words I used in a search were "secret quilt code." Of 748,000 entries, two of my site entries were listed on the first page:
www.quiltersmuse.com/an-american-quilt-myth.htm - a reprint of an article that appeared in The Quilter magazine in 2004, and another more recent article:
www.quiltersmuse.com/secret_quilt_code_and_the_ugrr.htm

First Newspaper Print Source That Explained, Block by Block, Why Code Is Implausible

In Volume 15, Issue 1 of UnRavel the Gavel newspaper, dated Feb. 6 - March 11, 2004, my article, "Symbolism in Quilts ... Part of the Underground Railroad?" was printed. As far as I know, this was the first article printed in a newspaper that disputed the quilt code, and it made banner headlines.

After hearing a talk at the New Hampshire Historical Society by L'Merchie Frazier, an art quilter from Boston and a friend of Raymond Dobard, Jr., Ph.D., I was compelled to write a 4,000 word essay, illustrated with both antique quilt blocks in my collection, and other quilt blocks that I hastily constructed for the purpose of photography.

Letters (e-mails) soon poured in from many people who read the article on my website, including a woman in Brazil, the only other country in this hemisphere to have a history of slave-keeping.

More Articles Published

The Embroiderers' Guild of America editor saw this article online and asked that they be allowed to feature it as a reprint. The result was a ten page, donated article, published in NeedleArts magazine, in June 2004. In the coming year, more than ten thousand people visited that file on my website.

For a time, I hosted a yahoo discussion group, set up specifically to share information and book resources related to the underground railroad, the secret quilt code, and Black History. Approximately twenty quilt historians actively participated in the group.

Articles Available at Quilter's Muse Publications on This Topic

Time passed and I agreed to write another article with updates that had occurred in the meantime. That four page article was published in The Quilter magazine in September 2004.

Below are links to three articles that are available to read on my website now:

An American Quilt Myth? The Secret Quilt Code of the Underground Railroad, previously published in The Quilter.

The Underground Railroad and the Question of Quilt Blocks: The Roots and Impact of a New American Myth with audio mp3 file introduction

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

Attention Jump-Starts Distribution of Book

In 1998, a year prior to the publication of Hidden in Plain View, Dobard was a featured guest on the Oprah Winfrey Show. At the time, Jacqueline Tobin, the co-author, who happens to be white, was not invited to appear on the same show.

In the "Life" section of USA Today, January 19, 1999, there is an article entitled, "Comforter of slaves bound for freedom - two women unraveled the code on quilts." http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/~kvander/books/quilts.pdf The article speaks for itself.

The First Two Magazine Articles in Print, On This Issue

Leigh Fellner wrote, "The Controversial Underground Railroad Quilt Code," for Traditional Quiltworks (magazine) #84," in response to Serena Wilson's article, "The Secret Quilt Code," published in Traditional Quiltworks, #79. (The magazine is no longer being published.)

The "McDaniel's Family Code"

Wilson co-owns a business, called "Plantation Quilts," with her daughter, Teresa Kemp, a niece of Ozella McDaniel Williams. The corresponding website states that the book, Hidden in Plain View is the story of her family's quilts. In one press release online, it is reported that Serena Wilson "held a crowd of 106 people spellbound as she described the panels of her family's quilts." She states that she learned McDaniels's Code from her grandmother and aunt. According to the online source, the business currently sells "The McDaniel Quilt Code, quilts, and gifts" at Peddler's Village, 1881 W. Henderson Rd., Columbus, OH
(614) 326-0022.

Teresa Kemp founded the Underground Railroad Quilt Museum in Atlanta, Georgia and invited me, as well as Leigh Fellner, to the grand opening. I did not attend.

A search for the truth has led Leigh Fellner into many areas of research, including the kinds of cloth available to slaves; the bed rugg that allegedly provided a map for the Underground Railroad; the origins of the song, "Follow the Drinking Gourd," and much more."

Recently, Fellner began offering a free, downloadable PDF file that is 140 pages long in which she presents her research, including a one page summary of her objections to the quilt code theory. She is scheduled to speak about quilts and their history, and the Underground Railroad's purported secret quilt code, in Indianapolis, Indiana, at the Indiana State Museum on March 10, 2007.

"The Drinking Gourd" Radio Show

In January 2004, the announcement was made that Renee Shakespeare would host a weekly radio program called,"The Drinking Gourd." Shakespeare had convinced Charles Evers, brother of slain civil rights leader Medgar Evers, who owns WMPR 90.1 FM in Jackson, Mississippi, to allow her to have a show that focuses on Black History. I remember being very happy when I learned that she planned to interview Leigh Fellner. I listened, and I was extremely pleased at the number of times my website was recommended, if people wanted to learn more about the secret quilt code.

Music Research Ongoing

Joel Bresler, a discographer and researcher, who maintains a site: www.followthedrinkinggourd.org, states that the song's first mention was in 1928. I have recorded the song, minus one verse, that I have sung since the 1960s. The mp3 file is available to hear, on my website, just to give you an idea of the tune. The melody is very pretty and appealing. However, the song cannot be linked to any known escape route or plan, and it appears that it did not exist at the time of the underground railroad.

Somewhere else online, I read a note from Renee Shakespeare in which she is pondering whether or not to change the name of her radio show, "The Drinking Gourd."

National Public Radio Show Interviews

National Public Radio has done shows on this subject, too. There were several interviews with Raymond Dobard, Jr., Ph.D. When asked what he would say to critics of the secret quilt code, Dobard replied, "Consider the scholarship." One can only suppose he meant his own scholarship employed in the writing of Hidden in Plain View.

Sadly enough, historians who have attacked the book, say that scholarship is the element that is lacking. On page 33 of the book, there is this statement:

"Our interpretation of the code is based in part upon informed conjecture."

How could it be anything but conjecture, with no historical evidence to support any part of it, just "hearsay" from a now deceased woman? The code is offered up in such a manner that it doesn't make any sense whatsoever, to knowledgeable quilt historians!

Quilt History List

The secret quilt code was discussed on the Quilt History List on quiltropolis, in the words of one member, "ad nauseam." The general consensus was that the code did not add up, and the many reasons for that, were discussed. Additional website entries on the subject cropped up. One of those was called "Putting It In Perspective: The Symbolism of Underground Railroad Quilts" by quilt historian, Kris Driessen. http://www.quilthistory.com/ugrrquilts.htm

An article by Xenia E. Cord, quilt historian, appears on Judy Breneman's site for quilt history, and is entitled, "Underground Railroad Quilts - Another View." http://www.historyofquilts.com/underground-railroad.html

Another article on the same website, written by Cathleen Richardson Bailey, textile artist and writer, is "Sweet Clara's Freedom Hidden in Plain View; A Quilted Maze of Skepticism and Controversy." http://www.historyofquilts.com/bailey.html

In 2006, Laurel Horton, a folklorist, scholar, and author, and a prominent member of the American Quilt Study Group, presented a talk at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln that was videotaped and is available to hear online: www.quiltstudy.org/

Laurel helped to organize a southern conference in 2006 (?) about the secret quilt code, with four main presenters, one of whom spoke in favor of the code. If anyone would care to add more details, please write to me. I do not know if a transcript of proceedings is available.

Result of Third Google Search for Related Key Words

When I keyed in "quilt code controversy" in a Google search, the first site (of 151,000) listed is a January 2007 blog written by Sally Greene. In reading down through her blog post, she says, apparently with "tongue-in-cheek," "...why not believe, (in the secret quilt code), especially if it alleviates white guilt by sewing a success story as children in classrooms sew cozy new quilts?"

The Code Had Its Roots in a Video, "Hearts and Hands" - 1987

Greene quotes Leigh Fellner in saying this: - (excerpted) -

The earliest mention of a "quilt code" is a brief statement in a 1987 feminist video: quilts were hung outside Underground Railroad safe houses. (No source is given for the assertion and it is conspicuously absent from the companion book.) In 1993 a white Massachusetts woman elaborated on the Code idea in Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt, a children�s fiction book; its heroine makes a quilt containing a topographical map she uses to escape from slavery.

Editor's Note: The book, Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt, was actually finished in 1989, and published four years later.

Link to David Blight Interview - 2007

At the end of her blog post, Greene provides a link to an interview with Yale historian, David Blight, on the CBC Radio Program, "As It Happens." Blight characterizes the secret quilt code story as one that is folklore and part of the mythology in both the United States and Canada that has surrounded the Underground Railroad's activities for more than one hundred years. He states that no fugitive slave needed a quilt hanging on a clothesline. Any escaping slave relied on his own "courage, bravery, and a network of friends."

Coded Quilt Blocks Linked to Douglass Deemed "Absurd" by Historian

Blight further reveals that he would not have come forward at all, were it not for the absurdity of including the secret quilt code as granite blocks at the base of the 8' monument, a proposed $15 million dollar statue to honor Frederick Douglass, which set off a controversy in New York City in January 2007. Douglass, was born a slave in 1818 and escaped, disguised as a sailor, in 1838. Blight is the editor of Douglass' autobiography and has first-hand knowledge of his life. In connection to Douglass, the quilt code "borders on absurdity," according to Blight.

Yet Another Quilt Historian Speaks Out

While looking around the internet, I found the following message written by Kate Clifford Larson, author of the book, Bound for the Promised Land: Harriet Tubman, the most highly acclaimed and well-researched biography of Tubman, to date.

Quilts were not known to be used as coded signals for travel on the URR, (Underground Railroad). This book, (Hidden in Plain View), has created a lot of myth making in its wake. It seems unlikely - given that it would be quicker and easier just to tell someone the directions to the next safehouse.

source: http://afrigeneas.com/forum-ugrr/index.cgi?noframes;read=270

Others Speak Out

On the same forum, K. Wyler Lane says this: "For all the incredible and documented family history...why center on a story that is so flawed?"

The same sentiment is echoed by other historians, both Black and White. The reason I say that at all is that historians seeks the truth and look for verifiable evidence, in spite of whatever race they are.

In her talk to a group at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Laurel Horton describes the research methodology that could have been used to see if a story was an isolated incident, or one that was repeated within a group of people. The oral testimony of one person, such as the deceased Ozella McDaniel Williams, does not serve as conclusive historical evidence.

Since the oral testimony of Williams, a number of Black women have come out of the woodwork to provide stories, supposedly told to them by their grandmothers, the telling of which reaps a tidy sum of cash. Unfortunately, none of those stories have "added up" either, considering what is actually known about quilts and their history.

Why Mention A Fallacy?

After reading a story by Fergus M. Bordewich, a prominent historian and writer, I listened to an NPR interview with him that centered on his (new) book: Bound for Canaan: the underground railroad and the war for the soul of America. He revealed that he does not bring up the secret quilt code, unless he is asked about it. "Why promote a fallacy?"

Most historians agree that there are so many excellent, compelling, and true stories about the Underground Railroad, we need look no further than recorded history, and we certainly need not delve into a fabricated quilt block story to attempt to sugarcoat history.

Can We Ignore The Conversion of Folklore into Faux Historical Fact?

Quilt historians have been in the front ranks of those who are trying to prevent the secret quilt code from being taught as fact, in the institutions of America, but others are now joining the quest. One such person is Ted Pack of California. Until a few weeks ago, I did not know Ted, until we struck up an e-mail friendship, (in 2007), based on his questions about the secret quilt code.

Upon hearing that a (Black) woman was to provide an explanation to a church group about how quilt blocks were used to guide slaves on the Underground Railroad, Ted became intrigued. He spent "thirty to forty hours" researching online, and he even went to his local library to borrow a copy of Hidden in Plain View, a book that has sold at least 200,000 copies, according to David Blight, (last he knew.)

A Search for Truth

Ted contacted the speaker and left a message saying that he had found this topic to be a controversy, (news to him.) He inquired as to whether there might be any credible sources that were "pro" this having happened, because there were certainly a lot of "cons."

A message given to Ted, via a third party, was that the talk had been cancelled, and that he had been called "a racist," apparently just for asking questions. The profiling does not seem to fit. Ted is a former Peace Corps volunteer in Borneo, so surely he must not be prejudiced on the basis of racial attributes.

Excited about his newfound knowledge about the secret quilt code, he shared some of what he had learned in a guest "sermon," on February 25, 2007. One of the tenets of his particular church is to search for "truth and meaning." In spite of this stated goal, members of the congregation seemed to be upset with the talk, he said.

He found "convincing" online sites which he temporarily added to the church's website. Now told me that he plans to add those links to his own personal website: http://www.tedpack.org/quilt1.html The links include the following:

The Underground Railroad Quilt Code, by Leigh Fellner.

Barbara Brackman's Fact Sheet on The Quilt Code.

Black Threads: Explorations in African American Quilting, Quilt History, Fabrics and other Fanciful Topics.

The Underground Railroad and the Use of Quilts as Messengers for Fleeing Slaves by Kimberly Wulfert, PhD.

An American Quilt Myth: The Secret Quilt Code of the Underground Railroad by Patricia L. Cummings, quilt historian.

Threads of Freedom: The Underground Railroad Story in Quilts, an exhibit at Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio.

Secret Quilt Code Spread by "Pro" Talks

The myth, acknowledged by historians and others, is currently continuing to spread via talks to guilds, museums, churches, and other public venues by those who are paid for their effort. Trish Chambers, who calls herself an historical re-enactor, wears a wide, hoop dress, like a Southern belle, and provides talks about the quilt blocks of the underground railroad. When I wrote to her recently, via e-mail, she did not answer.

She was due to speak to a quilt guild in New Jersey in May 2007. Judy Grow and Dana Balsamo, two members of the guild, are quilt historians who have actively disputed the secret quilt code. Ultimately, the guild's governing board decided to cancel the speech. I notice that Chambers is one of the people listed on Leigh Fellner's "Hall of Shame" page.

If truth be known, many more names could be added to that page, of folks who have made money in some way by capitalizing on this myth.

Quilt Shops and Capitalizers Seize the Moment

Adding to the confusion among quilters themselves is a quilt book (and video) by a leading book writer/pattern producer, Eleanor Burns. The book is called, "Quilts of the Underground Railroad." As if the book were not trouble enough, in Quilter's World magazine, February 2007, there is an article called, "Remembering the Underground Railroad," in which the reader is referred to the Burns book, as well as to works of fiction, "for more information." Most of the article is a convoluted misinterpretation of the original code as stated in Hidden in Plain View. That makes me continue to think that people are not actually reading the book!

Code Misinterpreted?

In 2004, I printed out a page from the internet entitled, "Underground Railroad Quilts Debate" which consisted of an e-mail from co-author of the book, Hidden in Plain View. Referring to the book, writing instructor Jacqueline Tobin states:

There has been much said about this story that we certainly never stated or wrote. For example, the term "Underground Railroad quilts" is a misnomer. No quilts per se were used on the escape; no quilts were taken on the journey, no quilts hung outside safe houses, etc., according to Ozella's story. In her code the quilt pattern names were appropriated by the slaves on the plantation to be used as mnemonic devices; to trigger memory of clues they could remember as they journeyed north. All of it was in their mind; as Ozella stated so many times, "it's a mind thing!" The only quilts were on the plantation themselves. How they were displayed or used is still conjecture except that Ozella stated they would be hung, one at a time, until the clue represented by the particular pattern was memorized. Yes, there are many stories about quilts and the URR; do not confuse them with this story.

http://beavton.k12.or.us/greenway/leahy/ugrr/quiltsdebate.htm

To Conclude, For Now

At the end of Black History Month, I have not seen or heard a lot to commemorate or honor African Americans or their contributions to American society, or their stories. I have heard a lot more of the same rhetoric, and a lot of conflicting information. The fact that the subject of the underground railroad has come up is a good thing. The discussion fires our imagination and makes us want to learn more about the events that preceded the Civil War.

As always, there is much more to the story, much I have already said, and many more details with which I could potentially bore the reader. Suffice it to say that this is an ongoing chapter in our collective history, as at any other time. The purpose of writing this essay is to provide the reader with a sense of events as they have happened until the present.

The good news is that newspapers are now taking more of a role to correct the record. Three recent articles of note are:

"Prof. debunks Douglass myth" by Andrew Bartholomew, Yale Daily News, February 1, 2007. http://www.yaledailynews.com/articles/printarticle/19693

"Fergus M. Bordewich: The fake history now associated with the Underground Railroad," New York Times, February 2, 2007. http://hnn.us/roundup/entries/34910.html

"Historians: Slave code's a myth" by Joel Thurtell, Detroit Free Press, February 18, 2007. http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007702180395&....

As David Blight said, "We can't diminish the power of mythology - myths help us to define ourselves." Yet, scholarship is based on truth and on hard evidence, not on hearsay, and therein lies the problem.

There are many more sites online to look at and to consider, whether you think you are pro-code, or not. There are also many more quilt historians who have been pro-active in attempting to combat this new American myth. The only thing I would suggest in any conclusions about the topic is to "Consider the scholarship!"
Somehow, we have to get past what color was used for the center of Log Cabin blocks and look at the larger picture. This myth teaches us one thing and that is how much more quickly a false notion can spread than the (boring?) truth.

Additional web page not previously noted, specifically:

www.carolinacountry.com/storypages/ourstories/quilt/quilt.html The story of how Laura Sneed, a former nurse, heard about the so-called Underground Railroad quilts, and is now making them for sale, as a cottage industry. This article was featured in a publication entitled Carolina Country.

www.quilthistory.com Kris Driessen's website. She hosts the "quilt history list" on the quiltropolis.com parent site.