28 03, 2022

Maryland governor proclaims “The Year of Harriet Tubman”

2022-03-28T09:18:07-04:00

Governor Larry Hogan officially proclaimed 2022 as “The Year of Harriet Tubman” in Maryland as the state celebrated the 200th anniversary of the birth of the nation’s most renowned freedom fighter on March 12. The governor announced the designation at the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park and Visitor Center in Church Creek as the kick-off to a full weekend of 200th birthday events celebrating the most famous conductor of the Underground Railroad.

“I want to encourage all Marylanders to take time this year to come here to visit Dorchester County, to travel the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Scenic Byway, to visit the countless immersive exhibits, which cover every period of Harriet Tubman’s life from slavery to freedom, or to come see the amazing artifacts from the Ben Ross cabin site, which was confirmed just last fall to have been the home of Harriet Tubman’s father,” said Governor Hogan. “It is truly inspiring to think about how we can walk along the same path she did, where she forged her indelible legacy of freedom.”

This weekend also marked the fifth anniversary of the opening of the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park and Visitor Center, which is co-managed by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Maryland Park Service, and the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park. Since opening in 2017, the park has welcomed more than 300,000 guests from nearly 70 countries—despite a lengthy closure and limited capacity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Among those visitors, more than 18,000 youngsters have been sworn in as Harriet Tubman State Park Junior Rangers, following activities that teach about Harriet Tubman’s life and legacy, and the importance of the Underground Railroad.

“This bicentennial year is a perfect time for people to experience Harriet Tubman’s life and legacy by touring the byway and visiting our 17-acre state park and visitors center,” said Secretary Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. “Throughout ‘The Year of Harriet Tubman,’ the park will offer programs and immersive experiences about Harriet Tubman’s life, surrounded by the landscape that looks much like it did during her time.”

As the birthplace of Harriet Tubman, Maryland is uniquely positioned to celebrate her lifelong achievements and provide visitors and residents places to learn more about Harriet Tubman, her life, and the Underground Railroad. Her stories are told at destinations across Maryland through attractions, special events, curated exhibits, and driving tours.

“Maryland’s Eastern Shore was named in two prestigious travel magazines—National Geographic World Best Places to Travel in 2022 and Fodor’s Best Places of 2022—because of our history, heritage, and connection with Harriet Tubman,” said Secretary Mike Gill of the Maryland Department of Commerce. “I personally encourage everyone to celebrate Tubman’s extraordinary life by traveling in her footsteps, especially along the Tubman Byway.”

The 125-mile-long Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad All-American Road Scenic Byway, which traverses a living land-and-waterscape similar to what Tubman would have experienced in her lifetime, serves as the perfect vehicle for exploration. In addition to sites along the byway, Maryland attractions with permanent exhibits on Harriet Tubman include:

Banneker-Douglass Museum, Annapolis
Great Blacks in Wax Museum, Baltimore City
Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History, Baltimore City

For more bicentennial events happening throughout 2022 along the Harriet Tubman Byway, see our bicentennial events roundup.

Maryland governor proclaims “The Year of Harriet Tubman”2022-03-28T09:18:07-04:00
15 12, 2021

Welcome to the Harriet Tubman bicentennial year!

2022-07-29T17:05:13-04:00

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.

Maryland Heritage Areas Authority MHAA

TUBMAN 200

Honoring a Hero in 2022
Bicentennial Events
Submit Byway Event
New Tubman Sculpture
Welcome to the Harriet Tubman bicentennial year!2022-07-29T17:05:13-04:00
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