In honor of MLK Day, I wanted to post about another hero much earlier on in the fight for justice, Harriet Tubman.
I was recently able to visit the county where she was born, Dorchester County, MD, and drive the byway through the area where she brought 70 people out of slavery, never once losing one.
Adjacent to Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge sits the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park and Visitor’s Center, where I spent some time watching a film, perusing the displays, and following people’s escapes (and attempted escapes) from slavery on interactive screens throughout the center. While not very large, I definitely learned new facts about Tubman’s life, and was also reminded about things I had learned in childhood but forgotten. She is a fascinating and inspirational historical figure.
Being at the wildlife refuge was also enlightening as it made what I was seeing in the visitor’s center so immediate and easy to imagine. There were short trails around the center where you could walk and look out at the watery landscape and reflect on what that journey must have been like. How did she navigate to the areas that were dry enough to walk along, where there was scrubby growth to hide herself, not to mention the groups of people that she led north?
Blackwater Wildlife Refuge is a beautiful setting in which to learn this history. Between hardwood evergreens stands riddled with bird nests lies sparkling water edged with golden rushes – it would make a very lovely place to watch a sunset after a visit to the Center and a picnic lunch – aside from farms there is not much around for miles! I always love to find a place where history and nature come together, and this was definitely one of those places.
I only drove a small portion of the Harriet Tubman byway, but if you are interested in history, there are actually 45 stops along this 125 mile stretch of highway that winds around Dorchester county than north through central and northern Delaware and ends in Philadelphia. You can learn more about it on this website. How cool to be able to retrace, in a sense, the many journeys Harriet Tubman took at such great risk to herself to bring freedom to many!