Audiobooks by Jacqueline L. Tobin

Hidden in Plain View: A Secret Story of Quilts and the Underground Railroad

"There are five square knots on the quilt every two inches apart. They escaped on the fifth knot on the tenth pattern and went to Ontario, Canada. The monkey wrench turns the wagon wheel toward Canada on a bear's paw trail to the crossroads--" And so begins the fascinating story that was passed down from generation to generation in the family of Ozella McDaniel Williams. But what appears to be a simple story that was handed down from grandmother to mother to daughter is actually much, much more than that. In fact, it is a coded message steeped in African textile traditions that provides a link between slave-made quilts and the Underground Railroad. In 1993, author Jacqueline Tobin visited the Old Market Building in the historic district of Charleston, South Carolina, where local craftspeople sell their wares. Amid piles of beautiful handmade quilts, Tobin met African American quilter Ozella Williams and the two struck up a conversation. With the admonition to "write this down," Williams began to tell a fascinating story that had been handed down from her mother and grandmother before her. As Tobin sat in rapt attention, Williams began to describe how slaves made coded quilts and then used them to navigate their escape on the Underground Railroad. But just as quickly as she started, Williams stopped, informing Tobin that she would learn the rest when she was "ready." During the three years it took for Williams's narrative to unfold--and as the friendship and trust between the two women grew--Tobin enlisted Raymond Dobard, Ph.D., an art history professor and well-known African American quilter, to help provide the historical context behind what Williams was describing. Now, based on Williams's story and their own research, Tobin and Dobard, in what they call "Ozella's Underground Railroad Quilt Code," offer proof that some slaves were involved in a sophisticated network that melded African textile traditions with American quilt practices and created a potent result: African American quilts with patterns that conveyed messages that were, in fact, essential tools for escape along the Underground Railroad.

Jacqueline L. Tobin, Raymond G. Dobard (Author), Janina Edwards, Leon Nixon, TBD (Narrator)

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From Midnight to Dawn: The Last Tracks of the Underground Railroad

From Midnight to Dawn evokes the turmoil and controversies of the time, including the furor over the publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin, congressional confrontations in Washington, and fierce disputes among black settlers in Canada over whether they should ask for money from abolitionists or strive to be self-supporting. An extraordinary examination of a part of American history, From Midnight to Dawn will captivate readers with its tales of hope and courage. The Underground Railroad was the passage to freedom for many slaves, but it was rife with dangers. While there were dedicated conductors and safe houses, there were also arduous nights in the mountains and days in threatening towns. For those who made it to Midnight, the code name given to Detroit, the Detroit River became their Jordan. And Canada became their "land of Canaan," the Promised Land where they could live freely in various black settlements under the protection of British law. One of these settlements was known as Dawn. In prose rich in detail and imagery, From Midnight to Dawn presents compelling portraits of the men and women who established the Railroad and the people who traveled it to find new lives in Canada. Some of the figures are well known, like Harriet Tubman and John Brown. But there are equally heroic, less familiar figures here as well, like William Parker, who fought off a group of whites determined to reenslave him. Parker resettled in Canada, learned how to read and write, and recounted his story as a slave narrative. From Midnight to Dawn evokes the turmoil and controversies of the time, including the furor over the publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin, congressional confrontations in Washington, and fierce disputes among black settlers in Canada over whether they should ask for money from abolitionists or strive to be self-supporting. An extraordinary examination of a part of American history, From Midnight to Dawn will captivate readers with its tales of hope and courage.

Hettie Jones, Jacqueline L. Tobin (Author), Richard Allen (Narrator)

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