Harriet Tubman, one of the most famous African American figures in the mid-1800s was born, raised, escaped, and returned over and over again to antebellum Maryland. Reports are that she rescued over 100 slaves during the time leading up to the Civil War. Additionally, she joined the Union forces as a spy at the breakout of the US Civil War. Her bravery was unquestioned. Her guile was evident. Her spirituality was apparent. But what about her intellect?
That’s what’s lost, I believe, in the history that is told about her. So many things she did, so many choices she made on those night-time journeys, have a mystical, magical quality when told by history. But she also learned like every human on the planet is capable of learning. One of the books I read as an elementary school educator in Tampa Bay, Florida was The Most Beautiful Roof in the World by Kathryn Laskey. It chronicled the work of Meg Lowman, a naturalist who worked in the rainforests of Belize on the South American continent in 1994. A blonde-haired, blue-eyed scientist, she took meticulous notes of the region; categorizing the animals, insects and fauna amid the biodiversity.
In one of the stories she shares in the book, this Maryland native talks about Harriet Tubman being one of her role models. She mentioned that she felt Harriet Tubman was one of America’s first naturalists. She notes that in her research, Harriet Tubman used knowledge of moss and oak trees to help the runaway slaves. Ms. Tubman learned that in the region of Maryland that they were in, moss tended to grow on the north side of the trunks of oak trees. So, the nights when there were clouds obscuring the North Star, on those nights when she just needed a little more assurance of what she was doing, she would rub her hand along the oak tree trunks. And when she found one with moss on it, she knew that direction was north. And yes, after I read this story, I went home. Living in Tampa, FL at the time, I walked around my neighborhood rubbing the trunks of the oak trees that were there. I would say 80% of the oak trees that had moss on the trunks, the moss was on the north side. I remember standing there “feeling the presence” of Harriet “Moses” Tubman. And I felt small.
There are many other instances of her intellect, her learning without being able to read, her learning when teaching African Americans was a crime. The history of Harriet Tubman wasn’t only, mystical, mysterious, and miraculous – it was magnificent. This is History With a Twist.