In today’s Moment in Black History, we will highlight Harriet Tubman. Born Araminta Ross around March 1822 in Dorchester County, Maryland, into the brutal grip of slavery, Harriet Tubman grew up facing hardship from the start. As a child nicknamed "Minty," she endured a severe head injury when an overseer hurled a heavy weight at a fleeing enslaved man, striking her instead (the blow is believed by many historians and medical experts to have caused lifelong symptoms consistent with what we now recognize as narcolepsy). The injury left her with chronic seizures, headaches, and vivid visions she came to see as divine guidance. In 1849, fearing she would be sold away like her sisters, she made the daring escape to freedom in Philadelphia, adopting her mother's first name, Harriet, and her husband's last name, Tubman…though he, a free Black man, chose not to join her.
But Harriet refused to stop at her own liberty. She returned to the South at least 13 times, risking everything under the Fugitive Slave Act. Guiding roughly 70 family members, friends, and others to safety along the Underground Railroad, she never lost a single "passenger." Her courage earned her the nickname "Moses," as she led people out of bondage much like the biblical figure. During the Civil War, she went further…serving the Union as a nurse treating wounded soldiers with herbal remedies, a cook, scout, and spy. In 1863, she became the first woman to lead an armed U.S. military raid, the Combahee River Raid, helping free over 700 enslaved people in one swift operation.
After the war, Tubman settled in Auburn, New York, where she fought for women's suffrage alongside figures like Susan B. Anthony, purchased land, and opened a home for elderly and indigent African Americans. She continued her work for equality until her death on March 10, 1913, at around 91 years old.
Her unbreakable spirit inspired abolitionists, civil rights leaders, and generations since. Today, she's honored with historic sites, her image planned for the $20 bill, and as a timeless emblem of resistance and hope.
Fun fact: Tubman used coded spirituals like "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" as secret signals on the Underground Railroad…hymns that carried hidden messages of escape and freedom, turning faith into a tool for liberation.
Harriet Tubman reminded us: "I had reasoned this out in my mind; there was one of two things I had a right to, liberty or death; if I could not have one, I would have the other."
Remember…Education is freedom of mind and never should be colorblind.
#PowerUp
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