This coming Sunday, Cynthia Erivo may make history if she wins an Oscar, therefore earning EGOT status (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony Awards). She has been nominated for not one, but two Oscars: Best Original Song and Best Actress for her soundtrack and acting performances in Harriet, a 2019 biopic about abolitionist Harriet Tubman. Yet while Cynthia may be making history in 2020, it’s all inspired by Tubman’s incredible work in the 19th century. Here's everything you need to know about this historical figure:
Who was she?
Harriet Tubman was an American abolitionist and activist born into slavery to Harriet ‘Rit’ Green and Ben Ross. Rit was owned by Mary Pattinson Brodess and Ben by Anthony Thompson, who ran a plantation in Maryland. The exact year Tubman was born is unknown, as was the case with many slaves; she reported her birth year as 1825, while her death certificate lists 1815 and her gravestone marks 1820.
Why is she famous?
Tubman declared, ‘liberty or death; if I could not have one, I would have the other’, so after the death of her owner Tubman escaped to Philadelphia. However, she immediately returned to rescue her family and eventually managed to secretly guide dozens of slaves to freedom, earning the nickname ‘Moses’.
When the Civil War broke out, she then worked as a cook and nurse for the Union Army, before becoming an armed scout and spy. During this time, she became the first woman to lead an armed expedition in the war, guiding the raid at Combahee Ferry which liberated more than 700 slaves.
How long did she live?
The abolitionist lived a long life, despite many illnesses and challenges. She had suffered with headaches and seizures throughout her life from a childhood brain injury (from a slave owner accidentally throwing a heavy metal weight at her, intended to hit another slave) and chose to go through a brain operation as an old lady with no anaesthesia, choosing instead to bite down on a bullet, the way she had seen Civil War soldiers do. After opening a home for elderly and poor African Americans, called ‘The Harriet Tubman Home for the Aged’, she was admitted there herself in 1911 and stayed there until her death. She died at around the age of 91 in 1913, surrounded by friends and family.
Tubman is now an icon of courage and freedom, and it’s no surprise that her incredible life inspired an Award-nominated film, particularly with such a talented actress as Cynthia Erivo telling her story.
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