Harriet Tubman Day is celebrated annually on March 10th, a tradition established by the U.S. Congress and Senate on March 13, 1990. While many mistakenly assume this date marks her birthday, the truth is both more poignant and painful—it is actually the day she passed away, on March 10, 1913, in Auburn, New York…… at 91 years old! (or possibly 93! learn more on that uncertainty below)
A Glimpse At A Few Of My Harriet Tubman Moments In Recent History:
📸 ABOVE: Photos my sister took of me at the temporary Harriet Tubman “Journey” statue at Philadelphia’s City Hall back in January 2022 -- which is the year widely considered to mark her 200th Heavenly Birthday. That central painted image is a snapshot I took of a large portrait painting of Harriet Tubman that mesmerized me at a (now-closed) Brooklyn café where I cranked out a writing deadline once upon a time during Black History Month back in the day. (I thought/wish I had taken note of the artist’s name…)
Today’s Not Her Birthday: A Profound Reminder of a Painful Practice in the ‘Past’:
Despite Harriet Tubman’s supreme importance to our shared American history, her birthdate remains unknown—as unknown to us as it was to her. Historians estimate her birth year to be between 1820 and 1822, but the exact date remains a mystery. Sadly, this was not an anomaly but a deliberate practice under chattel slavery. Although slaveholders kept meticulous records of their ‘property’—including birth dates—it was protocol to deny enslaved people access to this most basic and treasured piece of personal information … [READ THE FULL VERSION OF THIS POST ON MY PATREON PLATFORM. YOU CAN JOIN FOR FREE OR FOR AN AFFORDABLE LEVEL (E.G. as low as $3 / month) in support of my work as an independent scholar. thank you]
A Freedom Fighter with Many Talents
👆🏾 🎥 👆🏾 Become part of my PATREON to check out special video segments and out*takes [this one’s from an episode of my “Savory & Sweet Food History & Culture Show” show sharing surprising intel on why March 10th was chosen for “Harriet Tubman Day” + her nearly lost Culinary Legacy…
Despite any systematized slaveholder intentions to dehumanize her and her people, Harriet Tubman clearly had a strong sense of self—both as an individual and as part of the larger collective of a freedom-denied people. … amid her more widely known roles as a conductor of the Underground Railroad, nurse, decorated military spy, and humanitarian, there is a particular set of transferrable survival skills that rarely, if ever, gets mentioned: [READ THE FULL VERSION OF THIS POST ON MY PATREON PLATFORM to find out more — and in support of my work as an independent scholar, thanks!]
Harriet Tubman acquired foundational culinary skills from her Mother, Harriet “Rit” Green, who was the cook for the Brodess family on the plantation where Tubman was born in Dorchester County, Maryland. Tubman’s early exposure to the rigors of cookery and baking (even more arduous than today!), as well as her Mother’s and other enslaved women’s resourcefulness in creating meals with more limited ingredients for their families, laid the foundation for Harriet’s profound culinary wisdom and prowess. Tubman was also “hired out” to work at neighboring plantations and establishments from a young age, giving her exposure to a variety of other cooking styles, ingredients and dishes. These experiences helped her develop culinary versatility which later became a valuable asset to not only earn a living as a professional cook and baker.
Harriett’s Self-Funded Abolitionist Work Through Food:
Not only did she possess incredible culinary skills but she also leveraged them strategically to self-fund her abolitionist work and missions to free enslaved people. In both Philadelphia, PA and in Cape May, NJ she worked as a cook and baker for wealthy white families and in establishments that catered to elite vacationers. Her reputation as an excellent cook allowed her to gain steady employment and save money to support her freedom missions, providing a practical means to maintain her life's work of liberation. Since she did not receive consistent financial support from abolitionist networks, Harriett had to use her earnings from her cooking and baking skills to pay for travel expenses, bribes, and supplies needed for her Underground Railroad missions.
The income earned during busy summer seasons was thereby critical for funding her missions to liberate enslaved people, and her work in the kitchen had become a very practical and empowering means of maintaining her freedom work. The little known fact that Harriett’s food funded freedom for others is a powerful and under-appreciated theme in American history, particularly within Black history.
A Personal Connection to Harriet’s Culinary History
Michael W. Twitty, Henry Louis Gates, and me — Tonya Hopkins aka The Food Griot at that reception I mentioned for the launch of the six-part PBS documentary series, "The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross"
I first learned about this fascinating food aspect of her story during an in-person conversation with renowned Harriet Tubman biographer, Kate Clifford Larson, at a PBS event reception for Henry Louis Gates over a decade ago. After cordial introductions, Kate wasted no time to generously share with me this amazing historical insight. My award-winning friend, Mr. Michael Twitty and I were the only food historians at the well-attended event — and as the only Black woman food historian in the room I am grateful to have had that seed planted re: Harriet’s “hidden” culinary legacy. To this day i look forward to the opportunity to reconnect with Kate to dig deeper into this subject matter. I would also later meet an esteemed Sorority sister of mine, Professor Erica Armstrong Dunbar who wrote “She Came to Slay: The Life and Times of Harriet Tubman” who i have yet to talk at length re: any intel she too may have in this regard but that conversation/interview is still on my bucket list.
Harriet’s Lasting Legacy
Nonetheless that initial conversation with Kate sparked my doing a bit of original research on Harriett’s professional cookery and baking, fodder for my nonfiction storytelling and culinary content creation to honor, at least on her special day, one of the most meaningful change agents in human history.. The journey continues as i learn more each year about Harriett Tubman’s remarkably long (91-years old!) life, including where and how she utilized her culinary talents not only for her own sustenance or that of her immediate family’s but as a key part of her multi-hyphenated life’s work devoted to liberation for all. Skills that served her and that she served up throughout her various life stages and geographic locations: including throughout the South during the Civil War (where she served as both a cook AND a very smart, strategic, SUCCESSFUL SPY) , here in the North, including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, and the Ontario region of Canada. The more i learn about Harriet’s life through food reinforces truths I hold dear: how food transcends it’s necessity for basic survival and can also play a much larger role in paving pathways towards freedom and impactful change
Want to Learn More?
To dive deeper into Harriet Tubman’s food history, join my PATREON platform at a paid level to gain access to historically accurate recipes, including those connected to Harriet Tubman’s legacy. You can also book me for talks and presentations where I share more hidden histories and insights that honor our shared American pasts.