A Folklorist's Unique Look at the UGRR Controversy
There are many heated discussions going on these days. There are those who believe the idea that quilts were used as signals in the Underground Railroad lack verification while others don't feel that proof is necessary. Laurel Horton, looks at it all from a different viewpoint, that of a folklorist.
You can enjoy the presentation she gave to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus by going to the International Quilt Study Center site. There you can choose viewing as streaming video or download it and listen to it as a "podcast".
Horton's lecture, "The Underground Railroad Quilt Controversy: Looking for the 'Truth'", was delivered on March 22, 2006, as part of her Visiting Scholar residency. I viewed her lecture a couple of days ago and found it most interesting. Her unique point of view brought out several things that had never occurred to me.
I do think it's very important that teachers realize that even teaching this story as myth can be confusing as some will still see it as truth. While we understand the folklore aspect of this story we have a responsibility to make sure myth is not taught as truth.