Hall of Fame Spotlight – Harriet Tubman

Harriet Tubman was the embodiment of courage with a cause — a woman who turned faith into fearless action. Born into slavery in Maryland around 1822, she endured brutal conditions, family separation, and violence. Yet even as a child, she felt a divine pull toward freedom. Guided by spiritual conviction and unbreakable resolve, she escaped north in 1849, crossing a threshold few dared to approach. Freedom, however, was not enough if others were still left behind.

Instead of resting in safety, Tubman returned to the South at least 13 times, leading roughly 70 enslaved people to liberty through the Underground Railroad. She traveled by night, used the stars as her compass, and trusted her instincts more than maps or men. Those who followed her called her “Moses,” because she led her people out of bondage with courage that felt divinely inspired. She carried a pistol, not for violence, but to remind her travelers that turning back was never an option.

Her bravery expanded beyond the secret trails of the Underground Railroad. When the Civil War began, Tubman brought her skills in navigation and intelligence to the Union Army. She worked as a scout, nurse, and spy, gathering information from behind enemy lines and using her deep knowledge of terrain and human networks to aid Union operations. In 1863, she became the first woman in U.S. history to lead an armed military expedition, guiding the Combahee River Raid in South Carolina. The mission freed more than 700 enslaved people — a triumph of courage, strategy, and faith.

Tubman’s heroism didn’t end with the war. She dedicated her later years to caring for the poor and elderly, establishing the Harriet Tubman Home in Auburn, New York. She also joined the fight for women’s suffrage, believing that liberty was incomplete without equality. Though she lived her final decades in poverty, she never complained. “I never lost a passenger,” she said simply — an understated truth about a life that liberated countless souls.

Her story is one of relentless Good Trouble — the sacred defiance of a woman who refused to let injustice stand unchallenged. Harriet Tubman’s life reminds us that true courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph of purpose over it.

💡 Little Known Fun Fact: Tubman received little pay for her wartime service and had to petition for years to receive a pension. When it was finally granted, she used it not for herself but to fund her home for the elderly and those still finding freedom.

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