Posted on by Maggie

Underground Railroad Quilts Told Stories

An Educator Group listened to a program on the quilts of the Underground Railroad presented by Pam Strope, educational honorary society corresponding secretary. The program was at Sterling Books & Brew in downtown Albion. The quilts were an integral part of the communication passed along this route for enslaved peoples to escape to freedom.

Quilts helped enslaved peoples navigate the Underground Railroad to escape to freedom. As these African-American people followed the path to freedom quilt squares helped communicate the direction and safety of this often treacherous route.

Members of the Delta Kappa Gamma honorary society of key women educators learned about these specialty quilt communication squares at a recent meeting in Albion. DKG member Pam Strope quilted oversize squares to demonstrate the language of these “cloth maps” on the Underground Railroad.

Freedom Quilt Patterns by Pam Strope.

North Star Freedom Quilt Pattern
Flying Geese Freedom Quilt Pattern
Crossroads Freedom Quilt Pattern
Bear Claw Freedom Quilt Pattern

Quilts were used to “conceal and yet reveal” a means of escape on the Underground Railroad.

Strope based her knowledge on her studies of the Underground Railroad especially from the book, Hidden in Plain View by Jacqueline L. Tobin and Raymond G. Dobard  PhD. The book is about the secret story of quilts and the Underground Railroad.

Considered a scholarly detective story Stope discussed the quilts and how they were used to “conceal and yet reveal” a means of escape on the Underground Railroad.

Africans, who came to this new world, brought many memories. Symbolic elements were passed down and the quilts represent one of the most highly evolved systems making secret African symbols and Mason signs to run the Underground Railroad.

As the book authors stated communicating secrets using ordinary objects is very much of African culture and was brought with enslaved peoples when they were brought to North America. Messages could be passed along through objects like quilts that were so familiar they almost became invisible.

These quilt squares were created to convey information about the journey along this Underground Railroad that was a major escape route from the south to the free states and Canada. This means of escape was used particularly during the 1800s which was the peak of the use of enslaved peoples.

The Albion area DKG Nu Chapter was founded in 1946. DKG was established in 1929 by a group of women who wished to promote the professional and personal growth of women educators and promote excellence in education. There are now chapters in all 50 states, Canada, Latin America, Japan and several European countries.

            Current DKG Nu Chapter officers are Janis Sanford, Nancy Polnasek, Anne Lake, Connie Peltier and Pam Strope.

Learn More About DKG by visiting the Michigan website here:

DKG Michigan

In a different meeting, Riley Center Quilters presented their Underground Quilts at the Birmingham Public Library Central Branch.

Underground Railroad Quilts Contained Codes That Led To Freedom

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