Malcolm X once said, “Anytime anyone is enslaved, or in any way deprived of his liberty, if that person is a human being, as far as I am concerned he is justified to resort to whatever methods necessary to bring about his liberty again.” I’ve got to say, old Auntie Harriet was the epitome of this quote!! She employed all means possible to bring our people freedom. Born into slavery as Araminta Ross in 1820 or 1821, she was hired out by multiple slave masters that proved to be abusive resulting in a head injury. Due to the seizures caused by this injury, her masters decided to sell her. Fearlessly, she escaped before that could happen in 1849 to Philadelphia. She then adopted her mother’s name, Harriet, and her husband's name, Tubman. Like the Biblical Moses, Harriet couldn't stand being free while other people were still captives. She strived to change that and she did. Working as a cook in a resort at Cape May, New Jersey, in 1852, she saved enough money to pay for a raid that freed nine slaves and this was just the beginning. Aunt Harriet used the skills learned from her lumberjack dad to navigate through forests, fields, and waterways while working on the “underground railroad” as the journey to rescue slaves was dubbed. She liberated about seventy people on dangerous missions to slaveholding states and assisted some with knowledge of escape routes and safe spaces. Friends believed she drew her strength from God, “I never met any person of any color who had more confidence in the voice of God ” , said fellow abolitionist, Thomas Garrett of her. Harriet too, acknowledged this “I always tole God,” she said, “I'm gwine [going] to hole stiddy on you, and you've got to see me through.” He must have seen her through for she never lost even one slave. “ I was conductor of the Underground Railroad for eight years, and I can say what most conductors can't say—I never ran my train off the track and I never lost a passenger”, narrated Harriet. In June of 1863, General Harriet as they came to refer to her, aided Colonel James Montgomery plan a raid that freed seven hundred slaves from the plantations around the Combahee river. Conducting the underground railroad wasn't all she did. She was also active in the abolition movement and served in the union army during the civil war as a cook, nurse, scout, and spy. Oh, hail General Harriet!!! Next week when we gather for story time, I’ll tell you about the female African politician, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.