Shelly Zegart will discuss prevailing scholarship and differing perspectives on African American quiltmaking, including those related to the Underground Railroad and Gee’s Bend. She first began to analyze the origins of differing views while involved in the 1991 production of the landmark African American quilt exhibition and catalogue, “Always There, the African American Presence in American Quilts” curated by Cuesta Benberry. Zegart became more aware of the myths and misperceptions about African American quilts as time went on and began to speak and write on the topic. She believes that cascading misperceptions over the years, beginning in the late 1970’s, are largely responsible for the public’s willingness to accept the “stories” and myths that have built up around quilts and the Underground Railroad. Free and open to the public.