go tell the delaware historical society this and their local historians who will contradict you and present credible evidence to the contrary ----- Original Message ----- From: "Carol Ely" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Friday, August 30, 2002 3:11 PM Subject: Re: "Museums Cozy Up To Quilts" > a listmember wrote: > >a quiltwork done by homes using the Underground > > Railroad. On these quilts the wners placed maps so these slaves could > travel > > safely from house to house as well as other important information they > made > > need> > > This, unfortunately, is a widely held misperception, based on a book that > has been widely challenged and discredited by quilt historians, women's > historians, and historians of the underground railroad - even while it has > been enthusiastically embraced by the media, the public, and writers of > school curricula. There is no credible evidence that quilts were used as any > kind of signalling or pathmarking system during the years of the underground > railroad, and much practical and logical evidence against this idea, despite > the fact that we all want to believe this kind of story about human > ingenuity overcoming the horrors of oppression. For the debate, you can > search the archives of H-QUILT, the mailing list for quilt scholars (which > the posting was originally forwarded from). H-QUILT is at > http://www2.h-net.msu.edu/~quilt/, search keywords "underground railroad" or > "hidden in plain view" (the book's name). > > Carol Ely > Museum Consultant > Louisville > > ========================================================= > Important Subscriber Information: > > The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). > > If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes). > ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).