March 10th is Harriet Tubman Day!
Harriet Tubman is one of our most celebrated American heroines and I was very pleased to learn that she has her own holiday. In 1990 President George H. W. Bush declared March 10 as Harriet Tubman Day and in 2003 Governor George Pataki of New York declared it a state holiday.
Tubman, who was born a slave in Maryland some time around 1820, escaped to freedom at the age of 29. Not content with just her own emancipation, Tubman helped more than 300 slaves to freedom through the Underground Railroad, a secret route and network of abolitionists who aided runaway slaves to freedom in the north. She famously stated about her work as a conductor “I never ran my train off the track, and I never lost a passenger.’ Tubman would often disguise herself as a man while helping slaves escape to freedom and she called herself “Moses”. This confused slave owners who did not think a woman could be capable of doing all that she did.
Tubman was also a spy for the Union during the Civil War and her adept knowledge of the land and her connections from the Underground Railroad helped her to do this work. After the war, Tubman continued her activism by aiding newly freed African Americans and speaking passionately in support of the Women’s Suffrage Movement.
Tubman died on March 10, 1913 at her home in Auburn, New York.
The Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Heritage Center in Kansas City, Missouri has a variety of eventsplanned to celebrate Harriet Tubman Day. The celebration kicked off on March 6th and includes theater, dancing, music and art. How wonderful! What is your community doing to celebrate Harriet Tubman Day?
No comments:
Post a Comment