Whispering Quilts: A Slave’s Journey of Hope, Struggle, and Freedom
*Signed by the Illustrator, Richard Haynes*
R.M. Tappin
Illustrated by Richard Haynes
Softcover, 6×9, 152 pages, illustrated.
$9.95 plus shipping
published 2018 by R.M Tappin, ISBN: 978-1-70792343-4
Cover art courtesy of artist Charaf Essbati
Lacking a formal mode of communication, in the planning and execution of their escape from their bondage, Africans enslaved in America developed symbols and codes to communicate with each other.
Reputedly, some of these ways of communication were embedded in Negro spirituals that alerted slaves to prepare for their escape, or in quilt patterns that provided direction and guidance in their journey to freedom; however, some historians dispute the use of such symbols and codes in this manner. What is indisputable, though, is that an intricate system known as the Underground Railroad existed throughout the slave-holding and Free States to assist the fleeing slaves in their journey from bondage to freedom.
This inspiring story of the Whispering Quilts is rooted in actual events. it could have been the story of any one of the millions of Africans forced into slavery in America, who attempted the dangerous escape and journey from bondage on the plantations in the southern states of American to freedom in Canada.
