2018 Black History Month Edition

Diversity, Equity, and Poverty Programs Celebrates Black History
Harriet Tubman
1820-1913
Harriet Tubman escaped from slavery in the South to become a
leading abolitionist before the American Civil War. She was born
into slavery in Maryland in 1820, and successfully escaped in
1849. Yet she risked her life and freedom and returned
many times to rescue both family members and other
slaves from the plantation system. Tubman led
hundreds to freedom in the North as the most famous
"conductor" on the Underground Railroad, an
elaborate secret network of safe houses organized
for that purpose. She also helped the Union Army
during the war, working as a spy among other
roles.
After the Civil War ended, Tubman dedicated her life to
helping impoverished former slaves and the elderly,
establishing her own Home for the Aged. In honor of
her life and by popular demand via an online poll, in
2016, the U.S. Treasury Department announced that
Harriet Tubman will replace Andrew Jackson on the
center of a new $20 bill.
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