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In light of Black History Month, The Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County hosted several classes and workshops including The Underground Railroad Quilting Project.

“It is a history lesson, not just a quilting project,” said Elisha Minter, project coordinator.

Although the project was is intended for children, people of all ages and races filled the Beatties Ford Road Library to learn more about quilts and how to make them.

Minter started the project by sharing information about The Underground Railroad quilting codes and what they meant to slaves. Participants then chose a pattern and began tracing it for their section of the quilt.

“Our children need to know we are strong people and that it’s more to us than meets the eye,” said Minter.

Minter, who has traveled the U.S. teaching classes, is studying quilting from around the world in hopes to trace the patterns back to their original origin, which she believes is African tribes. After visiting the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, she decided to start classes in Charlotte.

Quilting codes are said to have served as a vital part of the Underground Railroad. Many historians believe that African American slaves used geometric patterns in quilts to convey messages that directed slaves to take particular action.

According to Jacqueline Tobin and Raymond Dobard, authors of “Hidden in Plain View: A Secret Story of Quilts and the Underground Railroad,” each quilt featured one of 10 message conveying patterns. The slaves were said to have placed quilts one at a time on a fence, for other slaves to see and gain direction. The codes gave clues and signaled slaves to prepare for escape. The pattern called “Flying Geese” pointed to the direction to follow, related to where geese would fly during spring migration.

“If a man doesn’t know his history, it is destined to be repeated,” said Minter.

The quilts from The Underground Railroad Quilting Project will be on display at the new renovated Beatties Ford Road Library.

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