About this episode
Harriet Tubman is one of the inspiring figures in American history. For years she did the hard, dangerous, crucial work of running into the South and grabbing enslaved people off of plantations and bringing them to freedom through the Underground Railroad to the North—sometimes taking them as far as Canada. She risked her life and changed the lives of many, many families by rescuing people from slavery. In the recent movie about her, Harriet, I felt like crying during the montage where she walks in over and over with groups of people she’s saved. But if you think you know Tubman’s story because you’ve heard it, or because you saw the movie, just know that there’s much more to tell. Most accounts do not go into her later years, when she was a Union spy and when she led Union soldiers into a raid on a Confederate plantation where she ended up freeing over 700 people in one night. After seeing the film I wanted to hear the full story of Tubman’s life as we know it so I called the author of a great new book about Tubman called She Came To Slay by Rutgers University history professor Erica Armstrong Dunbar and she gave me much deeper insight on the real Tubman’s life including how she made it from the North to the South and back, what her life was like, what her friendship with Frederick Douglass was like, what her marriages were like, why we never see Tubman smile in photos, and more. Let me know what you think. Twitter @toure Instagram @toureshow Toure Show Ep 108 Host & Writer: Toure Senior Producer: Jackie Garofano Assistant Producer: Adell Coleman Editor: Ryan Woodhall Photographers: Chuck Marcus and Shanta Covington The House: DCP Entertainment See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Support the show: https://www.dcpofficial.com/toureshow See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices