HISTORY OF QUILTING IN BLACK AMERICAN CULTURE
Quilting began with enslaved women threading, sewing, and quilting together patchwork blankets made with scraps of fabric from the owner’s household. The initial purpose was to keep the family warm in the winter.
Quilting was also a social activity which brought women together, allowing them to exchange ideas and preserve the legacy of the families, communities, and culture.
Not only did quilting provide warm nights, but the Quilts were sold to obtain funds to establish the Underground Railroad, Anti-slavery newspapers, and safe houses for the slaves as they escaped to the North.
The women skillfully sowed into the quilts messages to assist in the plan to escape. They inserted CODES which shared — DIRECTIONS in Travel, SAFE HOUSES to enter, how to DRESS, who to TALK TO and other important Messages.
Through the LENS of African American Quilting, EXPLORE levels of Creativity, Diversity, Family History that enrich the Fabric of ALL Communities.
Ann’s Corner
