#67 The Slavery Quilt Code: Fact or Fabric-ation?

When the book Hidden in Plain View: A Secret Story of Quilts and the Underground Railroad hit the shelves in 2000, it began a debate that still continues to this day. The book was based on an oral history passed down to Ozella McDaniel Williams, who said that specific symbols were sewn into quilts to help runaway slaves escape through the underground railroad. Without documented proof, however, some historians—specifically quilt historians—believe that quilt codes are a complete myth. Others believe that the quilt code theory is plausible, and that no documented proof exists because white men predominately wrote history, whereas women—especially illiterate black women— passed information through oral history. Regardless of whether it is true or not, the idea of hiding directions in a quilt hanging in the plain sight of an ignorant slave master makes for a compelling story.

(Source: Stukin, Stacie. “Unravelling the Myth of Quilts and the Underground Railroad,” Time. April 3, 2007. http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1606271,00.html.)