YERRRRRR!
I felt like I had to start this with a real New York welcome because I'm headed to the state today to check out the home of the "Moses of Her People," Harriet Tubman.
Okay… maybe the "yerrr" doesn't quite fit, since she lived upstate and not Harlem. But still 😅
I learned that Harriet Tubman took thirteen trips back into slave territory to bring people from the South to the North via the Underground Railroad, but while she's most closely associated with the South, she actually lived in New York for over fifty years.
She had a house and land that she bought herself, in a small city called Auburn I hadn't known much about before this year, even though I was born in NYC, spent eight years of my adult life there, and visit pretty frequently.
I'll have so much more to share with you when this trip is done (especially if you're following me on Instagram), but here's what else school likely didn't teach you about her:
Nobody actually knows Harriet’s exact birthday.
She wasn't just freeing people. She was a certified spy for the Union Army, running her own network of scouts and river pilots who mapped Confederate positions.
She also worked as a lumberjack at one point.
Even though she had narcolepsy from a head injury, there's somehow no record of it ever slowing her down on any of those thirteen trips.
She once needed brain surgery and reportedly refused anesthesia, choosing to bite down on a bullet instead.
She was also close friends with Abraham Lincoln's Secretary of State and his wife. They were abolitionists and heavily involved in her work upstate.
That's all for now. But I'll be in Auburn for the next few days and will have even more interesting information to share.
Thoughtfully,
Nicole
Unserious Thought
Everybody was in Brooklyn whinin pon di floor for Labor Day and was in Florida NOT throwing 🍑 or pelting waistline and that’s a shame.
NYC Word You Should Know
Check This Out
If you love to travel and have a good time with some dope Black people, check out the Black Travel Summit in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, this October. I’ll be hosting a session of panels and an awards ceremony. I’d love to see you there.