It’s deeply troubling that Harriet Tubman’s image and quote have been removed from the National Park Service’s “Underground Railroad” webpage.
The National Parks Service webpage for the “Underground Railroad” used to lead with a quote from Tubman, the railroad’s most famous “conductor”, Harriet Tubman, who famously stated,
“I was the conductor of the Underground Railroad for eight years, and I can say what most conductors can’t say – I never ran my train off the track and I never lost a passenger”.
Both the quote and an image of Tubman have since been removed, along with several references to “enslaved” people and the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.
Harriet Tubman’s legacy as a fearless liberator—and the resistance of enslaved people—must never be erased or minimized. We must remain rooted in the TRUTH of our history.
