HARRIET TUBMAN

November 2025

Freedom fighters portraits

WHO IS HARRIET TUBMAN?

The woman who led the way to freedom

A CHILDHOOD IN CHAINS, A SPIRIT OF RESISTANCE

Born as a slave around 1822 on a Maryland plantation, Harriet Tubman grew up within a brutal slavery system.

From childhood, she was marked by her mother’s act of courage, who had threatened a man who had come to buy one of her daughters. The sale was ultimately cancelled.

A victim of violence, she suffered lifelong after-effects from a blow to the head.

“MOSES” OF THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD

In 1849, Harriet Tubman escaped from slavery. She returned to Maryland thirteen times to help other enslaved people flee, guiding nearly seventy individuals to freedom via the Underground Railroad, a secret network of routes and safe houses leading to the Northern states and Canada, at the risk of her life.

She inspired abolitionists such as John Brown, executed in 1859, of whom she said: “He did more in dying than a hundred men would have done in living.”

A WOMAN AT WAR

During the American Civil War, Harriet Tubman served with the Union Army as a nurse to wounded soldiers and as a spy for the Northern forces.

She then became the first woman to lead an armed expedition, freeing more than 700 enslaved people in South Carolina.

Her impactful role during the war cemented her status as a leading figure in the struggle against slavery.

CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST

After the abolition of slavery in 1865, she continued her struggle as an anti-racist campaigner. She also championed the cause of women and their right to vote.

She died in 1913 in Auburn, New York, and was buried with military honours.

Harriet Tubman remains today a global symbol of resistance, courage, and justice.

“If there’s shouting after you, keep going. Don’t ever stop. Keep going. If you want a taste of freedom, keep going.”

Harriet Tubman