One of the great things about activism is it forces you to learn a lot you didn’t know before, because you have to have some facts in your head when you go around talking to folks. Recently, I’ve been filling a yawning gap in my history knowledge — anything and everything to do with the Civil War, which (can’t imagine why) my high school history curriculum sidestepped — by working with some local activists under the banner of the John Brown-Harriet Tubman Historical Society. We’re organizing a rally and march against racism on Oct. 17, 2009, in Harper’s Ferry, WV. (Find us on Facebook or email fightingracism2@yahoo.com if you want to come!) Better students of American history than I may know that John Brown, a white abolitionist, led a group of 21 others, white and black, in a raid on the federal arsenal in Harper’s Ferry on Oct. 16, 1859. The plan was to take the weapons of the arsenal and retreat into the Alleghany Mountains, where they would form guerilla groups of escaped slaves and other anti-slavery fighters, who would then foment slave rebellions. Alas, the raid was tactically unsuccessful, but Brown’s example galvanized the abolition movement and inspired the Union troops, who marched to the song “John Brown’s Body” as the Civil War broke out. So we celebrate the 150th anniversary of this raid, recognizing the model of multiracial cooperation and hardcore commitment to equality it offers, as well as realizing how much racism is still separating and injuring us all.
Harriet Tubman is possibly the most famous “conductor” on the Underground Railroad, an escaped slave herself who helped hundreds of others reach free territory safely. She was also (I learned through this activity) a confidant and supporter of Brown, who probably would have participated in the raid herself had communication reached her in time. I helped to write a short piece on her association with Brown for Challenge. It had to be combined with another article due to space and time constraints (such is a writer’s life) but I’m posting the original, Tubman-centric article here. She was quite the human. Enjoy!
4 Comments
October 9, 2009 at 7:44 pm
In 6th grade, we were going to do a presentation that was a series of skits on the Civil War. One of the skits was about the Underground Railroad. The girl in charge thought it was literally an underground railroad and wrote the skit under this premise. I asked her if she really thought 1860s engineering was capable of a designing and building a nationwide subway system quiet enough to keep the entire project hidden and unknown to half of the country.
She still didn’t understand.
My only restitution was that from then on, I always put a bit of egg shell in any cupcakes or brownies I made for the class, with the hopes that she would end up eating the piece of shell. This may sound ridiculous, but it was more likely than an 1860s stealth slave-freeing subway system.
Thankfully, the entire performance was quashed before we could perform it in front of the school and parents.
October 9, 2009 at 9:36 pm
Now that’s just silly. Who would use a subterranean railroad system when they could have been using the steam-powered airships? Much quieter, and carbon neutral.
October 11, 2009 at 11:33 pm
[...] Char wrote a post about Harriet Tubman, which reminded me of this episode from my youth. [...]
October 30, 2009 at 11:13 pm
great article! man, what the history classes left out!