Harriet, Quilts, and the Underground Railroad | by Joanna Hazelden

In fourth grade, my teacher assigned me to read my first "real" biography. I remember going down to our school library and combing through the books for something to read. I picked up one called "Harriet Tubman" because I was intrigued by her name, but once I read her life story, I was captivated.

To my nine-year-old self, she was everything that I considered smart, tough, and brave. As a "conductor" on the Underground Railroad, she freed over 70 people and eventually served in the Union Army as a scout and spy. I was disappointed last year when the library closed for COVID-19, and we were unable to show the film about her, Harriet, but you can reserve the DVD from the Chicago Public Library here.

Happily, we've adjusted to Zoom Programming, so we have a second chance to re-visit the Underground Railroad. I was quite intrigued by the idea of using quilts as codes, so I wanted to make them a part of our display at the library. I enlisted the artistic help of two co-workers, Michelle and Keva, and we replicated some of the designs with paper. Even simply cutting and pasting the paper was a complex and involved project, so I can only imagine what it was like to sew these quilts! 

To complete our display, Katy and I found fiction and non-fiction books to stock the table, and Stuart added things from our children's collection. In honor of African American History Month and the awesomeness that is Harriet Tubman, come in to check them out!  

Want more information on these topics? Download our reading and resource lists.

Register for our Monday, February 22, 7 p.m. program: Pre-Civil War Quilts and the Underground Railroad with Connie Martin. More information here.