" Mammy's Cakewalk "
Beneath the Veneer of Gentility

Many books and movies have typically depicted the ole Southern Mammy in a summarily one-sided manner. Mammy personified the ideal slave and the ideal woman, the centerpiece in the antebellum Southerner’s perception of the perfectly organized society. In “The Old South”, published in 1892, the historian and novelist Thomas Page praised Mammy as a “universally beloved” and “honored member” of the white family, second only in authority to “that of the mistress and master”. She was the key ingredient in the Old South fable because of her role among its happy, devoted slaves. As “the foremost Big House slave”, she not only complemented white womanhood but also served as the homes domestic manager. She was more than a servant of white folks; the mammy of the Old South mythology was a “collaborator” in their society, a reassuring figure who, despite her breeding, comforted her white betters, offered advice, kept black males in line, and put hot food on the table.

The truth is mammy was many things and many women but most of all she was a survivor; a survivor negotiating an existence between truths and lies, only superficially the loyal woman of southern wishful thinking. After Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation many of the most “trusted” slaves left, and as the masks fell off the faces those who remained, African-Americans forced masters and mistresses to confront the traumatic reality that white people had not been benevolent civilizers, and that black subservience and faithfulness had been the product of white power an imagination.

This piece attempts to depict the many women mammy was and had to be in order to survive. The secret behind the bandana was that she was not just a collaborator in racist bellum society but also a figure that played a part in the heroic struggle for freedom-by any means necessary. Was she a covert conductor in the Underground Railroad? Did she bare the lash for protecting others? Did she provide Big House food and tools to help others escape? Or did she, as in Mark Twain’s Pudd’nhead Wilson switch her own bastardized mulatto slave child with the master’s white child in order to keep him from being sold into slavery?

A cakewalk is a dance performance that was based in part on African elements combined with satiric imitations of white dances that were observed by plantation slaves. Absorbed into black life as a part of Saturday night gatherings where the winning dancers got a cake as a prize, the cakewalk evolved into the featured ending of minstrel shows. Basically, it is the last word or the end of the show.

This piece is “Mammy’s Cakewalk”. The centerpiece is cotton with a flannel slip. Beneath the slip are original mid 19th century “birthing bloomers” that would have been worn by a pregnant woman. The windows are covered with sheer organza. The bulk of the top piece is a silk blend. The cotton squares are the quilt patterns that make up the Underground Railroad Quilt Code (meaning encoded in geometric patterns). The back is an antique cotton print fabric, circa 1895. The print depicts a leisure Ante-bellum plantation scene with the Big House, Master and Mistress, and slaves working in the fields along side the Mississippi River. (70in x 50 in)

Monkey Wrench -– was used as a signal for the slaves to begin their escape preparations by collecting the “tools” they thought they would need on their journey north

Wagon wheel -- was a sign alerting the slaves to pack provisions for their journey as if they were packing a wagon

Bear’s Paw -- a visual reference reminding the fugitive slaves to follow the actual path of a bear’s footprint usually through the Appalachian Mountains

The Crossroads -- was a symbol representing Cleveland, Ohio, the last point before crossing the river into Canada and into freedom.

Log Cabin -- used as a symbol to represent a “safe house” or a safe person

Shoofly -- referred to an actual person who might aid escaping slaves, a possible Masonic symbol

Bow Tie or Hourglass -- was a reference to escaping slaves to disguise themselves. May also have been a Masonic or African secret society symbol for protection or recognition as a safe person or place

Flying Geese -- geese fly north in the springtime. This symbol was a reference of the best season to escape and that they could follow the geese north to freedom. It may also have been used as a reference for escaping slaves

Drunkard’s Path -- was a clear warning for the slaves to move in a staggering fashion so as to allude any following slave hunters

Evening Star -- a reference to the astronomical tool, the North Star, used by navigators to find their way north

Dresden Plate -- used to indicate the cities of Dresden, Ohio or Dresden, Ontario (Canada)

Sailboat -- a reference to look for a boat to cross the Ohio River into Canada, as the last stop to freedom

Nine patch -- used as a grid pattern for topographical location; could be used as a map