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Indiana Libraries, Vol. 26, Number 1
YOUNG READERS AT RISK: QUILT PATTERNS
AND THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD
by Deborah N. Foley
ently introducing young readers to
difficult historical events and traditions
through children?s literature is a valuable
tool for parents, teachers, and librarians.
Well written stories excite children?s
imaginations and help broaden their world beyond
time and space. However, in writing for impressionable
young children, how important is authenticity when
dealing with grim subjects? Nina Mikkelsen (1998)
asserts in her article, ?Insiders, Outsiders, and the
Question of Authenticity: Who Shall Write for African
American Children?? that we should ask, ?What makes a
story good? Replicating reality to the fullest? Getting the
facts and feelings right? Suppressing or distorting reality
to make us think and feel differently?? (p. 33).
Mikkelsen ends her article by challenging African
American story tellers to ?get it right? (p. 48). No matter
how authors justify the construction of a good story
when writing fiction, historical fiction falls into another
category where authenticity becomes necessity, espe-
cially when writing for impressionable young children.
Although librarians hesitate to censor, the need to
critically evaluate these selections becomes imperative.
The story may become so distorted that the truth is lost.
A disservice is done to what Mikkelsen calls ?inherited
cultural imperative? (p. 37). An example of this situa-
tion is the Underground Railroad quilt myth.
Gradually introducing children to the grim realities
of slavery in America is a daunting task that walks a fine
line of informing without horrifying young minds.
Nowhere does this become more apparent than with
stories of the Underground Railroad. Many authors and
illustrators do an outstanding job of transforming
historical reality into wondrous journeys of imagina-
tion. Unfortunately, there has been a recent trend to
distort the facts as to how the dangerous trip to free-
dom was accomplished. This is seen in the way the
topic of quilts is dealt with in various books. Some
authors assert that quilts were used as signals to alert
runaways to a safe house or ?station? on the Under-
ground Railroad.
HIDDEN MYTH OR TRUTH?
Some authors have chosen to portray these quilts as
facts based on historical evidence. Hidden in Plain
View: A Secret Story of Quilts and the Underground
Railroad by Tobin and Dobard (2000) has created a
disturbing trend found in children?s books, maps,
history projects, and art and craft projects that rein-
forces children?s belief in secret code quilt patterns. To
help validate the ?secret code? theory, which through-
out the book is very vague, Tobin bolsters her book by
co-authoring with Howard University art history profes-
sor Raymond G. Dobard, Ph.D. Even Dobard cannot
convincingly get his point across when practically every
other sentence ends with a question mark.
Were there any real connections here? And how
did these patterns function? (p. 28) . . . Was there
an African American equivalent? . . . Might there be
a connection between the Prince Hall Masons, the
Underground Railroad, Ozella?s story code, and
what appears to be shared interest in a geometric
language? And what of the stories told about the
Prince Hall Masons? (p. 29) . . . Might not patterns
on a quilt top have a similar function? (p. 30) . . . Is
Ozella?s story-code a cultural hybrid, mixing African
encoding traditions with American quilt patterning
conventions? (p. 31)
Tobin and Dobard fall short on answering any of
the questions. The authors shamelessly name-drop
throughout the book mentioning, among others,
respected quilt historian Barbara Brackman and African
American scholar John Michael Vlach, both of whom
refute the ?secret code quilt patterns? theory.
In 2001 Vaughan wrote The Secret to Freedom.
Although it is an Underground Railroad story with a
heartwarming ending, within this story the author talks
about secret codes used in quilts to help facilitate the
escape. Vaughan has an Author?s Note at the back of
her book that specifically describes eleven of ?the most
important quilt patterns in the Underground Railroad
code? with pictures of these patterns illustrated on the
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Indiana Libraries, Vol. 26, Number 1
back cover of the book. One of Vaughan?s sources is the
before mentioned Hidden in Plain View.
Several other children?s books were recently
published that promoted the ?quilt myth? including
Jacqueline Woodson?s (2005) book Show Way. Also
Mary Kay Carson?s book The Underground Railroad for
Kids: From Slavery to Freedom With 21 Activities states
as fact that quilts were used to help runaway slaves. In
her ?Make a Paper Quilt Block? activity, Carson (2005)
encourages readers to ?create a quilt block pattern . . .
create symbols or scenes that might help runaway
slaves escape to freedom? (p. 105).
Both Show Way and The Underground Railroad for
Kids are recommended in 2005 by Best Children?s
Books, Booklist Book Review Stars, Children?s Editor?s
Choice, Kirkus Book Review Stars, Publishers Weekly
Book Review Stars, and School Library Journal Book
Review Stars. Show Way was a Newbery Honor book as
well.
HISTORIAN AND QUILTMAKER REFUTE SECRET
CODE THEORY
A number of authors and historians take the
opposite stance. When asked about the ?secret code
quilt patterns,? John Michael Vlach, author of Back of
the Big House: The Architecture of Plantation Slaver,
was adamant that there was no evidence from primary
sources to support secret quilt patterns (Vlach, 2004).
Another author and leading quilt historian Barbara
Brackman (2000) comments:
As a quiltmaker I?ve always loved the pattern and
the secrets hidden in the name. But as an historian
I?ve come to realize that there are no known quilts
in this pattern dating back to the days of the Civil
War or to the decades before the War when the
Underground Railroad flourished. The pattern is
common, but the quilts made in the design date
from the 1890s or later. (p. 1)
ENCOUNTERING THE MYTH BEYOND BOOKS
During the summer of 2004, as part of a National
Endowment for the Humanities workshop, I visited the
North Carolina Museum of History. One of the rooms
featured Tar Heel Junior Historian Association award
winning history projects by North Carolina students. I
was surprised that among the winners was a child?s
small hand-made quilt that used the ?patterns? with a
detailed explanation of the ?secret codes.? I spoke with
the Junior Historian Coordinator about this display. She
told me that one of the judges, also a museum curator,
had explained to the student that this project was based
on an unproven theory. Although historically unsound,
the quality and craftsmanship of the project was
excellent and the student received an award.
The NEH workshop also took me to the Historic
Stagville Plantation in North Carolina. Vaughn?s The
Secret to Freedom is available in many public and
school libraries; however, I was surprised to find the
book for sale at the plantation gift store with a quilt-
style wall hanging that explained the ?code.? Hidden in
Plain View was on the shelf alongside scholarly books
about the Antebellum South.
CONCLUSION
Adult readers are free to decide whether they will
embrace the controversial Hidden in Plain View.
However, young students should be able to trust that
fiction and non-fiction material on the library shelf has
been selected and evaluated by knowledgeable adults.
Rather than censor, librarians should carefully select.
The challenge is to critically evaluate these selections.
This is not an easy task with the recent glut of informa-
tion in our technological world. The flood of books hot
off the press is overwhelming and it may be several
years before misinformation is discovered and cor-
rected. Let us also challenge authors, as Mikkelsen put
it, to ?get it right? (p. 48).
REFERENCES
Brackman, B. (2000). Quilts and the underground
railroad: Guide and pattern instructions for
?underground railroad quilt.? Lawrence, Kansas:
Sunflower Pattern Co-Operative.
Carson, M.K. (2005). The underground railroad for
kids: From slavery to freedom. Chicago: Chicago
Review Press, Inc.
Mikkelsen, N. (1998, Spring). Insiders, outsiders, and
the question of authenticity: Who shall write for
African American children? African American
Review, 32(1), Literature Issue. St. Louis University:
33-49. Retrieved September 17, 2004, from
http://www.jstor.org/
Tobin, J. & Dobard, R. (2000). Hidden in plain view: A
secret story of quilts and the underground rail-
road. New York: Anchor Books.
Vaughan, M. (2001). The secret to freedom. New York:
Lee & Low Books, Inc.
Vlach, J. (2004, July 18). Personal Interview with John
Vlach. Historic Stagville Plantation in North Carolina.
Woodson, J. (2005). Show way. New York: G.P.
Putnam?s Sons.
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Indiana Libraries, Vol. 26, Number 1
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Deborah Foley is a Library Teaching Associate at Culver
Academies, Indiana. She joined the staff of the
Huffington Library in 1990 and team teaches the ?Ninth
Grade Information Literacy? course. She is also the
?Quilting Circle? club coordinator. Deborah received
her BS/Teachers degree from Ball State University in
1972. She has completed graduate work at Towson
State University and IUPUI. Her continuing education
classes include Distance Learning, Technology Educa-
tion, and ?National Endowment for the Humanities
Crafting Freedom? workshop. Her article is a result of
collaboration with quilt historians and African American
scholars. She may be reached at foleyd@culver.org.