Quilt Making and the Underground Railroad 6/11/10

     Today we honored flag day, a holiday pretty low on the radar of the average citizen in the United States. We discussed Betsy Ross and the long history in this country of quilt making. Quilt making is now a three billion dollar a year industry in the United Sates and is a hobby enjoyed by many million people. Our topic focused on quilt making during the Civil War and we discussed the connection of their use in the Underground Railroad. Many quilt patterns are believed to have carried messages through the intricate language of symbols directed to slaves running toward their freedom.  We shared many of these symbols and their meanings,  such as: following the North Star, preparing to depart on the journey towards freedom, and following a bear's trail to avoid publicly traveled roads. We also discussed  the common daily act of hanging out a quilt in the sun by slaves who worked along the various routes toward freedom. These quilts hanging in people's yards were covert billboards to aid them in their path and offer messages of the local conditions. The sample image to the left is called the "Bow Tie" or "Hourglass" and was a symbol indicating it was necessary to travel in disguise or change into clothing worn by a free person to avoid detection. This image might have been sewn into a quilt many times over and was a standard quilt pattern, so did not create and suspicion.
     Each participant was given a 12x12 piece of card stock with the symbols already drawn in dark black lines to aid in visibility. They spent the majority of the session using water colors to paint the squares. Our discussion led to the connection Jews felt to the African American plight and their involvement in the Civil Rights movement. We also shared our connection to the United States flag and the deep feeling Jews have about freedom. We also had a Holocaust survivor in the group discuss the intricate levels of communication of the partisans living in the forests of Europe during WWII. Everyone was very interested in the topic and very pleased with their outcome. This project was simple to execute, non threatening as an art medium, and provided for a stimulating conversation.