Black History Month recognizes and celebrates the achievements and contributions of Black Americans throughout history, particularly spotlighting these accomplishments and individuals during February. This month, The Black & White remembers some of the most distinguished Black Americans in history, and they’re all from Maryland.
Harriet Tubman was born into enslavement in Dorchester County, Maryland, in 1822. Tubman, whose birth name was Araminta Ross, was one of nine children of freeman Ben Ross and enslaved woman Harriet Ross. Despite having a free father, Tubman and her siblings were enslaved because their mother was not free. At a young age, her enslaver, Edward Brodess, separated Tubman from her father. When she was six years old, Brodess rented her out for labor, separating her from her mother and siblings for extended periods.
At the age of 13, an enslaver struck Tubman in the head while attempting to recapture a runaway slave. Historians later discovered that as a result of this accident, Tubman developed narcolepsy, a chronic neurological disorder that affects the brain’s ability to control sleep-wake cycles.
Tubman’s disability fundamentally affected her identity and story; she often experienced vivid visions of freedom during narcoleptic episodes, which inspired her faith in the plausibility of escape.
While enslaved, Tubman gained some semblance of control by being able to choose her jobs as long as she paid a small fee to her enslaver. During one job, Tubman met her future husband, a freeman named John Tubman. Once married, Tubman changed her name from Araminta Ross to Harriet Tubman.
In 1849, Tubman’s enslaver died while attempting to sell her. The looming fear of being sold was the final push that Tubman needed to begin her journey to freedom. Tubman set her sights on Philadelphia, where the abolitionist movement was very prominent. One night, she set out on foot and reached Philadelphia with a friendly white woman’s aid. The following year, she escorted her sister and her nieces to freedom, and soon after, she went after her brother and two other men. On her third trip, she attempted to find her husband but discovered he had taken another wife. From this point forward, she became dedicated to freeing other slaves seeking refuge.
After her escape, Tubman returned to the South approximately 13 times, freeing around 70 slaves from bondage. Tubman took trips exclusively to Maryland due to her knowledge of the landscape and people there.
The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 required all escaped slaves to be sent back to their enslavers, and this act incentivized Tubman to refine her route to freedom. Already referred to as the Underground Railroad, Tubman’s path became highly organized, with people of all races, classes and genders aiding runaway slaves.
The Underground Railroad ended amid the Civil War, but Tubman continued her mission to fight for others’ freedom.
After President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, Tubman served as a soldier and spy for the Union Army. She became the first woman in the United States to lead an armed military operation, and under her leadership, Union forces freed over 700 enslaved individuals.
After serving in the war, Tubman moved to Auburn, New York, where she opened her home to the underprivileged, elderly, ill and disabled. She later founded a nursing home for elderly African Americans living on her property.
Tubman continued to attend women’s suffrage meetings, speak at suffrage events and became a member of the National Women’s Suffrage Association.
Until her death on March 10, 1913, Harriet fought for the causes she believed in. She was known for her unparalleled passion and skill, which started right here in Maryland.
