Pre-Civil War Quilts: The Secret Codes to Freedom on the Underground Railroad

Program Type:

Presentations

Age Group:

Adult
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Event Details

Illinois Humanities' Road Scholar Connie Martin tells fascinating family stories of the quilt codes used by her ancestors to signify escape routes along the Underground Railroad. Learn the code meanings and interpretations that have been passed down to her, a 6th generation descendant of captured African slaves, and see a display of over a dozen beautifully hand-crafted quilt replicas.

This historical presentation is based on Connie's mother's book: "Lizzie’s Story: A Slave Family’s Journey to Freedom," by Dr. Clarice Boswell. 

Connie Martin earned a BA from Illinois State University and a MA from Aurora University with a thesis in Integrating African American History in Educational Curriculums. A retired middle school Language Arts teacher of 32 years, 35-year Aqua Fitness Master Trainer, Senior Fitness Instructor, and mother of three sons, Connie finds joy in telling the secret codes and hidden messages in her family quilts her ancestors used over 200 years ago by abolitionists and fugitive slaves to signify escape routes to the North.