Underground Railroad quilt code hoax/myth

I feel the need to witness. But since this is a matter of arts and education, I’m placing it here on CS. If it belongs elsewhere, I’ll leave it to the moderator to pawn it off.

Since Oprah sanctified the book “Hidden in Plain View”, gradeschool teachers across the country have incorporated the myth of the “Underground Railroad quilt code” into their syllabi. It’s a fun way to teach Civil War history and Black American history.

Happens to be total BS.

Is there no harm done?

Hardly. First, the theories of HIPV are, upon inspection, seriously insulting to American slaves. Also, as UGRR historian Giles Wright points out, the myth reinforces many modern misconceptions about slavery and the UGRR that scholars have worked hard to dispel. And not least, popularizing the myth helps put money in the pockets of certain hucksters who use it to sell merchandise and earn speaking fees.

I’d like to know if others out there have kids who are being taught this nonsense, and if there’s interest in resources to help stop the spread of this popular misconception.

If so, I can provide a few resources for the general public to start researching the truth for themselves, and for K-12 teachers to use quilt history in constructive ways in the classroom.

http://www.hartcottagequilts.com/railroad.htm

Would you mind describing what the code was (not) and how it was (not) used? Or provide a link? I’ve never heard of this.

Which misconceptions does this myth reinforce and how?

An interesting topic and a great link from Homebrew. Perhaps this might get better attention if it was moved to GQ?

The initial claim is that there existed a code, based on patterns and knots used in quilts, that conveyed information to slaves who intended to escape via the Underground Railroad (UGRR). This notion had been peddled by a couple of quilt vendors in Charleston (yes, I’m using loaded language – you already know that I consider this story a hoax/myth), and was later believed by a university instructor who wrote the book about it. Oprah put it on her list, and the myth was born.

The initial claim was that quilts were used as mnemonic devices to prepare intended runaways for the journey to Canada.

It gets more complicated, however, as the initial fraud grew legs and became a full-blown myth. You’ll now hear claims that the quilt code was used all along the UGRR by stationmasters and sympathizers.

I came across this myth while researching quilting history. UGRR history isn’t my thing, though I’m getting into it now. So I’m going on what I read from UGRR historians who object to the book.

The general misconceptions usually cited involve the number of slaves using the UGRR, their areas of origin, their destination, and the mechanics of the UGRR itself. I have to do a lot more looking into this side of it, but the fear seems to be that kids (as well as adults) will fall into the trap of romanticizing the UGRR, inflating the numbers, and assuming that most slaves fled from the deep south northward.

There are also numerous errors of fact cited by UGRR historians.

Personally, I’m more compelled by the other 2 objections I listed – lining the pockets of a few hucksters (caveat: most people conveying the myth believe it and are being totally honest and don’t make a dime), and encouraging ideas which insult the intelligence of American slaves.

To buy this story, for example, one would have to believe: that slaves needed mnemonic devices to remind them that they were preparing to escape, and to keep them from forgetting simple notions such as “follow the north star if you’re lost” and “watch out for bears”; and that slaves and UGRR stationmasters would rely on a method of communication which exposed them to great risk (any non-sympathizer could coincidentally or through appropriation – “What a nice quilt, I think I’ll make one like it” – copy the code, thus misleading a runaway; torture and subsequent killing of captured runaways could cause a disastrous breach of security, as these quilts were exposed to God and everybody).

It also violates common sense. Most runaways were young men. Why use a method that required someone to teach them the names of quilt blocks and teach them secret meanings related to the names?

Homebrew’s link to Leigh Fullner’s article is an excellent place to start, and coincidentally where I first got wind of the controversy.

This page http://antiquequiltdating.com/ugrr.html is also an excellent starting point, and contains links to resources for teachers, as well as to Giles Wright’s rebuttal of the book, along with print resources.

You should be able to navigate the field on your own after checking out these initial resources.

It might, but I doubt it belongs there. Seems like an arts/culture topic to me. Maybe a thread a la “Was there really an UGRR quilt code?” would work there, but I’m not up to starting that thread. Any takers?

This makes absolutely no sense. First, how would you know there was a code? Someone tells you “hey, look out for a secret quilt code about how to escape slavery!” Wouldn’t they just TELL YOU?!?! Plus, who would explain it to them? And why wouldn’t THOSE people just tell them? Wouldn’t anything at that time be transmitted 1000x faster verbally? Did slaves even have access to quilts? Seems like any quilts they’d get would be handed down to them after the owners were good and tired of them. Wouldn’t it be dangerous to follow info that might be years obsolete?

I actually like Oprah but I think this is 100% hooey.

Oprah has a long history of serious exploration of rational topics…like the Bible Code.

Oh wait… :wink:

This is another point which I didn’t bring up. Many slaves did know how to quilt, but relatively few actually made quilts for themselves and their families.

If a slave woman (and yes, it was indeed “woman’s work” during this period) had the skill, she was very likely to be required to use it quilting for a white woman. In those days, quilts often served as status symbols – i.e., my husband has the money to buy me costly fabric (scrap quilts were less common than is often now supposed) and I have the luxury to spend time sewing or to have other sew for me.

To keep their own families warm, slave women by and large made the same decision you and I would today – use woven fabric and to hell with the stitchwork.

Imagine doing detailed stitchwork on your own time while living the life of a slave, necessarily in less than optimal light and with scant resources.

Nevertheless, slaves did make quilts, which is amazing to me. I’d never have even attempted it. But I’m pretty damn lazy.

For more on slave quilts, see this site http://www.womenfolk.com/historyofquilts/afam.htm, and look into the biography of Harriet Powers.

I’d never even heard of this before reading this thread. You have both created and destroyed my ignorance. Neat!

Thanks for starting this thread, Thingol. I couldn’t believe the shoddy scholarship of Hidden In Plain View. If, as a first-year grad student, I had written something based on such tenuous assumptions, my professors would have raked me over the coals. You’ll notice that ithe book was not published by a university press. The idea of a quilt code makes a great story, but unfortunately, it’s bad history.