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HARRIET TUBMAN and her UNDERGROUND RAILROAD.
2007 was the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slavery and a perfect opportunity to tell you about the amazing story of a young slave girl. This is an excerpt of an article Mandy wrote for Fabrications Magazine in 2007. You can read the whole article on an adobe page by clicking here.
I have always tried to make quilts that tell a story, often about my family and friends. When I heard that there was a story about a quilt that had a coded secret I was hooked like many of the quilting population, and when Elena Burns published a book depicting the coded quilt I rushed out to get it.
It was an intriguing read but alarm bells rang and with an open eye and lots of research, especially Barbara Brackmans new book Facts and Fabrications Unravelling the Truth about Quilts and Slavery, I came to the conclusion that it was a story that had got out of hand, been fabricated, and was most probably not true, more like a fairy tale.
The existence of the Underground Railroad (much like the French Resistance) with its secret hiding places and groups of people who were opposed to slavery and who helped and campaigned for slaves and their freedom was in no question, but coded quilts, sorry very unlikely.
All was not lost because in my research, I came across this most remarkable character. She had a far bigger story to tell, one that I have incorporated into the blocks of a quilt. There is no record of Harriet making a quilt; this is my interpretation of the story using the names of quilt blocks to convey the story.
You only have to go into 'google', tap in Harriet Tubman and you will be inundated with stories about her life.
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Some of the Quilts ..more here soon
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