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| Peace Flight, by Carolyn Mazloomi. |
Symposium Explores Oberlin's History Through Quilts
The Ancestors, by Carolyn Mazloomi
JUNE 22, 2001--Oberlin residents can celebrate their town's history of racial tolerance tomorrow, June 23, during a symposium inspired by the exhibition Threads of Freedom: The Underground Railroad Story in Quilts. The free, public event will take place from 9:45 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. at the Oberlin Community Services building, 285 South Professor Street.
Carol Lasser, a professor of history at Oberlin College, and Sharon Patton, director of the Allen Memorial Art Museum, will join a panel of four experts to discuss Oberlin's participation in the abolitionist movement and the Underground Railroad.
The discussion will include Cathy Nelson, president of the Friends of Freedom Society/Ohio Underground Railroad Association; Sharon Irving, a scholar from Toronto, Canada; Carolyn Mazloomi, founder of the Women of Color Quilters Netowrk; and Karen Schaefer, a reporter with Cleveland radio station WCPN (90.3 FM) who has written about Oberlin's place in Underground Railroad history.
Oberlin--a bastion of racial tolerance--was one of the most important stops on the Underground Railroad. This clandestine network included lawbreakers who helped smuggle slaves from the South to liberty in the North when such actions were considered crimes. Ohio had at least 21 crossings along the Ohio River and nearly 3,000 miles of hidden trails, most of which led north to Lake Erie's ports. Some 40,000 slaves were helped to freedom along the dangerous route.
Saturday's symposium is sponsored by the Firelands Association for Visual Arts (FAVA) and the Oberlin Heritage Center/Oberlin Historical and Improvement Organization (O.H.I.O.) Reservations are required to attend the event. Persons interested in attending may contact FAVA by telephone at 440-774-7158 or by e-mail; or, contact O.H.I.O. at 440-774-1700 or by e-mail.
Threads of Freedom: The Underground Railroad Story in Quilts is on view at the New Union Center for the Arts, 39 South Main Street, now through August 26. The unique collection of quilts from throughout Ohio, the U.S., and Canada tells the story of the Underground Railroad and the abolition movement. Among the quilts is one made by Oberlin senior citizens, many of whom descended from the community's first African American and abolitionist residents.
Please send comments, questions, and suggestions about Oberlin Online news and feature articles to online.news@oberlin.edu.
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