Harriet Tubman was no lonely heroine

[struggle4progress]

BY JONATHAN ZIMMERMAN
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Thursday, April 21, 2016, 4:52 PM

... By the time Harriet Tubman escaped from a Maryland plantation in 1849, African-Americans and their white allies had been assisting fugitives from slavery for more than 50 years. They provided food, shelter, clothing and medical care to escaped slaves; they also helped fugitives find jobs in the North ...

She also worked closely with other leading antislavery figures of her time, including Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison. Like Douglass, she raised money for the cause by giving personal testimonials about her experiences in bondage and her escape from it. When abolitionist firebrand John Brown was arrested in his aborted 1859 raid at Harpers Ferry, Harriet Tubman was on her way to join him ...

Let's be clear: Tubman is a genuine American heroine. So are Susan B. Anthony — who will appear on the back of the new $10 bill — and black opera singer Marian Anderson, who will join Eleanor Roosevelt on the back of the $5. But all of these women were part of social movements much bigger than themselves. For my money, that's the most important history lesson of all.

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/jonathan-zimmerman-harriet-tubman-no-lonely-heroine-article-1.2610347

[oldandhappy]

1. We are fortunate to have had all of them.

And the women who worked for the vote for women.

[msongs]

2. about time women appeared on the paper money. our paper money is also quite drab compared to

other countries' money. singapore money feels like plastic

[erpowers]

3. More Reason To Put Her On the $20

Maybe Jonathan Zimmerman was trying to give an argument for why Harriet Tubman should not be on the front of the $20, but he did the exact opposite. He gave an argument for why she should be on the $20. Yes, she may have just been a small cog is a large machine. However, years after her death she inspired many people to fight for their rights. Maybe she only personally brought 60-80 slaves to freedom; however, decades after her death she inspired both civil rights leaders and feminist leaders to seek advancement. Maybe she was not the only inspiration, but she was part of the inspiration.

[struggle4progress]

4. She's a good choice for the $20 IMO