The world is honoring Harriet Tubman throughout 2022, marking 200 years since her birth in Dorchester County on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. People from far and wide will be sharing and reflecting on her remarkable story. For more than 25 years, Tubman was trapped in the bonds of slavery before escaping – and then returning to Maryland time and again, risking her life to lead her family and friends to freedom. She went on to work as a scout, spy, and nurse in the Civil War. Later, she was part of the suffrage movement. And throughout her life, she was a humanitarian, always thinking of and doing for others.
It was here on Maryland’s Eastern Shore that she grew up in a hard life of slavery. It was here she learned important outdoor skills, from navigation to foraging for food. It was here that she loved her family so much that when she escaped to freedom by herself in 1849, she found it wasn’t the same without them. And it was here that she returned, risking her life more than a dozen times to lead her loved ones on dangerous journeys out of slavery. She went on to blaze new trails in the Civil War (as the first U.S. woman to lead an armed military raid), in the suffrage movement, in humanitarian causes, and more. In short, her life was remarkable and still offers lessons for us today.
There are events along the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway commemorating her bicentennial, including the installation of a new sculpture of Tubman at the Dorchester Courthouse in Cambridge, Maryland on September 10, 2022. Learn more about bicentennial events.
Of course, you don’t have to wait for an event to learn more about Tubman’s life. This year is a great time to experience the road trip known as the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway, with 45 sites in Dorchester and Caroline Counties, as well as Delaware and Pennsylvania. The byway visitors we hear from talk about how inspiring it is to learn about her life, her courage, her selflessness.
For the latest in “Tubman 200” news, follow the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway on Facebook and Twitter.
