Freedom Center unveils iconic Harriet Tubman statue

Two centuries after her birth, Harriet Tubman is honored for a limited time by an inspirational statue outside the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. The 11-foot bronze statue honoring one of humanity’s greatest heroes was unveiled at a ceremony at the Freedom Center March 4. The statue, titled the Beacon of Hope, will be on display through April 30.

The Beacon of Hope, produced by Wofford Sculpture Studio, tells Tubman’s continuing story, amplifying her message of equality so all may hear it. In her hand she holds a symbolic generational key for people to unlock their own inner strength. At her feet are the yoke of slavery and the shackles cast off by Tubman and others she helped liberate, as well as the closed shackles of those yet unfree. The heroic Tubman’s hand is raised as a North Star for those seeking freedom.

“It is the Freedom Center’s continuing hope that generations of children and adults alike will find the inspiration and courage to walk in Tubman’s footsteps, drawing strength from the powerful story of one of humanity’s great heroes. Like Tubman – who guided 70 enslaved people to freedom, never losing a passenger – we may find that we can be the beacon of hope for others,” said Woodrow Keown Jr., President/COO, National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.

At the unveiling ceremony, remarks were also made by Congressman Greg Landsman, Representative OH-01, United States House of Representatives, and Alicia Reece, President, Hamilton County Commissioners

Keown added, “It’s a remarkable addition to our city, allowing us to help tell the stories of those who fought for freedom. Tubman’s story is not just a chapter in history, it’s a continuous call to action for all of us.”

As a programming component to the statue, the Freedom Center hosted Karen Hill, President and CEO of the Harriet Tubman Home Inc. in Auburn, N.Y, to discuss the lesser-known history of Tubman to a sold-out audience of students and educators on March 6. (Contributions to this article were made with permission from Shay Dawson, National Women’s History Month Predoctoral Fellow in Gender Studies and author of Harriet Tubman. 1822-1913, written for National Women’s History Month). Their account of Tubman’s life follows:

Born Araminta Ross in March of 1822 to parents Harriet (Rit) Green Ross, a slave, and Benjamin Ross, a freeman, Tubman was one of nine children, Hill said. The Ross family were enslaved in Dorchester County, Maryland. The children of enslaved women were also considered enslaved, regardless of whether their fathers were enslaved or not. The Ross’ enslaver, Edward Brodess, did not allow the family to remain together and worked to split them up through the assignment of work.

In 1828 at the age of six, Brodess rented out Tubman to provide childcare for nearby overseers. Tubman was always able to separate how much she loved the beautiful land where she was born from the brutal slavery that existed there.

Tubman’s life would change forever at the age of 13. In 1835, while she was running errands at a local store, she witnessed another enslaved person’s attempted escape. As the enslaver became desperate in their attempt to recapture the freedom seeker, he threw a two pound weight. Rather than hitting the intended target, he struck Tubman in the back of the head and fractured her skull.

Her mother nursed Tubman back to health, while she was in a coma for nearly three months. After the incident, physical pain became a part of Tubman’s life. As a result of her visions, her disability is often associated with her religiosity. Both elements were key in her determination to seek liberation for the enslaved.

She negotiated with Brodess to select her own work assignments. He agreed so long as she paid him a yearly fee. From then on, Tubman hired herself out on her own terms.  

It was around this time that she met her future husband, freedman John Tubman. The couple married in 1844 when Tubman was 22 years old. Upon their union, she changed her name from Araminta “Minty” Ross, to Harriet (likely after her mother) Tubman. 

Making use of her wealth of knowledge gained over the years, Tubman set her sights on escaping to Philadelphia. Although small in stature, she pressed onward alone, guided to Pennsylvania by the stars. 

With the help of abolitionists along the way, Tubman journeyed from the Brodess’ farm in Maryland to Pennsylvania. In Philadelphia, she made connections with abolitionists, namely William Still, a conductor on the Underground Railroad. Tubman learned more about the Underground Railroad from Still. The more Tubman learned, the more her desire to see her family free grew. She decided to return for them in 1850.

After a successful first trip in which she brought both family and friends to freedom, she became a Conductor on the UGRR. She succeeded in her second journey as well and, on her third in 1851, Tubman returned for her husband, John. She quickly discovered that he thought she was dead, and he had remarried. John’s new wife was pregnant. Though heartbroken, she offered to take the couple to freedom, but John refused.  

In 1850, Congressional passage of the Fugitive Slave Act changed the calculus for Conductors like Tubman. The Act “stipulated that it was illegal for any citizen to assist an escaped slave and demanded that if an escaped slave was sighted, he or she should be apprehended and turned in to the authorities for deportation back to the ‘rightful’ owner down south.   

Tubman conducted eleven trips from Maryland to St. Catherines, Ontario, Canada between 1850 and 1860. All of these journeys–23 in total– over the years made Tubman a hero, with many African Americans–both free and enslaved–dubbing her “Moses” after the biblical figure.

Tubman brought approximately 70 individuals (including her parents, Rit and Ben) to freedom.

In 1857, after working to free her parents, Tubman initially brought them to Canada with her, but ultimately settled in Auburn, New York. Auburn was a hotbed of abolition and felt like an ideal place for Tubman and her family to settle.

Through her years at the Auburn home, Tubman was able to provide education for children and healthcare services for all, both important concerns for her.

Hill continued with a narrative about Tubman’s personality, saying she liked everybody and treated them as if she was their mother, and she welcomed anyone, including orphans,  people who were disabled, and  anyone  too old to work and support themselves, into her home. She showed others the way and gave them the intestinal fortitude to carry on. As for her, she never felt inferior to anybody, and she had the accomplishments to back her self confidence.

In 1857, she met abolitionist John Brown. Brown was outspoken in his support of antislavery. Tubman and Brown formed a close friendship. While planned as a way to steal guns at Harper’s Ferry and start a revolt to free enslaved people across the South, the Brown’s raid ultimately ended in failure. Brown was hung shortly thereafter. Tubman was not in attendance for the raid as it had been rescheduled or at his hanging due to illness. 

She lived in the time of Black abolitionist Frederick Douglass, and related to his advocacy for community, social justice, equality and freedom.

In April 1861, the American Civil War broke out over the issue of slavery. Tubman saw an opportunity to get involved, enlisting in the Union Army as a nurse where she cared for wounded soldiers. In 1863, Tubman took on the role of a scout and organized a group of spies. She recruited enslaved people interested in assisting the Union. Tubman helped Colonel James Montgomery coordinate the Combahee River Raid in South Carolina. The raid was wildly successful with Montgomery’s troops freeing approximately 750 enslaved people. With their newfound freedom, many of the formerly enslaved men opted to join the Union’s fight against the Confederacy. To date, Tubman is recognized as the first woman in US history to both plan and lead a military raid. In June 2021, the Army inducted her into the Military Intelligence Corps.

During her time with the Union Army, Tubman met her second husband, Nelson Davis. The couple married in 1869 in Auburn, NY, where he, Tubman, and her freed family members would live out their days. Nelson built the family a home, which still stands as of 2024. It is also in Auburn where Tubman founded the Home for the Aged.

A staunch supporter of the suffrage movement, Tubman worked alongside various upstate-NY based suffragists, such as Lucretia Mott, Susan B. Anthony, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. The interests of abolitionists were aligned closely with those of suffragists, with both movements concerned with autonomy and freedom. However, Black women were not included in that movement, and Tubman unsuccessfully advocated for that extension. 

Nelson Davis passed away in 1888. In his absence, Tubman continued to dedicate her final 25 years to philanthropic efforts. In 1913, at the age of 91, Harriet Tubman died of pneumonia in the Home for the Aged & Indigent Negroes. In her final words, Tubman called upon her faith and made reference to John 14:3 in the Bible. She stated, “I go away to prepare a place for you, that where I am you also may be.” She was laid to rest in the Fort Hill Cemetery in Auburn.

Of service to her community until the very end, Harriet Tubman’s legacy remains relevant. As of 2024, the United States Mint launched the 2024 Harriet Tubman Commemorative Coin Program. The program is timely as it honors the two hundredth anniversary of Harriet Tubman’s birth.  

Continued discussions about and homages to Tubman stems from her powerful narrative of taking control of her own destiny and ultimately forging a path for others. She is celebrated not only for the hundreds of enslaved that she freed over the course of her lifetime, but for all of those who still look to her story for guidance. Just as she looked to the North Star to carry her to freedom, her work and values remain a guiding light to many to continue onward–no matter how harrowing the path ahead. 

The Tubman Home is operated by the National Park Service.

The Harriet Tubman Commemorative Coin, is available for purchase directly from the Freedom Center or directly through the U.S. Mint online. A portion of the proceeds from each coin sold will equally support the missions of the Freedom Center and the Harriet Tubman Home in Auburn, NY.

Hill, with the aid of Keown, wrote the legislation for the striking of the coins.