March 10
Harriet Ross Tubman
Social Reformer, 1913
art by Rev. Kirsten Kohr of UHRICHSVILLE, OHIO O God, whose Spirit guides us into all truth and makes us free: Strengthen and sustain us as you did your servant Harriet Ross Tubman. Give us vision and courage to stand against oppression and injustice and all that works against the glorious liberty to which you call all your children; through Jesus Christ our Savior, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Slave births were recorded under property, not as persons with names, but we know that Harriet Ross was born sometime during 1820 on a Maryland Chesapeake Bay plantation, the sixth of eleven children born to Ben Ross and Harriet Green. Although her parents were loving and they enjoyed a cheerful family life inside their cabin, they lived in fear of the children being sold off at any time.
Harriet suffered beatings and a severe injury, but grew up strong and defiant, refusing to appear happy and smiling to her owners. To cope with brutality and oppression, she turned to religion. Her favorite Bible story was about Moses, who led the Israelites out of slavery. The slaves prayed for a Moses of their own.
When she was about 24, Harriet escaped to Canada but could not forget her parents and other slaves she left behind. Working with the Quakers, she made at least nineteen trips back to Maryland between 1851 and 1861, freeing over three hundred people by leading them into Canada. She was so successful that $40,000 was offered for her capture.
Guided by God through omens, dreams, and warnings, she claimed her struggle against slavery had been commanded by God. She foresaw the Civil War in a vision. When it began, she quickly joined the Union Army, serving as cook and nurse, caring for both Confederate and Union soldiers. She served as a spy and a scout. She led 300 Black troops on a raid that freed over 750 slaves, making her the first American woman to lead troops into military action.
In 1858-1859, she moved to upstate New York, where she opened her home to African American orphans and to helpless old people. Although she was illiterate, she founded schools for African American children. She joined the fight for women's rights, working with Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, but supported African American women in their efforts to found their own organizations to address equality, work, and education. She died on March 10, 1913, in Auburn, New York.
Excerpted directly from “Lesser Feasts and Fasts 2022,” p. 130-131.
Lessons and PsalmJudges 9:50-55
Psalm 146
Luke 11:5-10
Preface of Baptism
