02/23/2026
Harriet Tubman was a disabled Black woman and incredible abolitionist. She was born into slavery and struck in the head by an enslaver at the age of 12, when she witnessed — and refused to participate in stopping — the escape of another enslaved person. The enslaver broke her skull, which caused seizures, headaches, and visions. After escaping slavery, Tubman went on to lead another 70 people to freedom as the best-known conductor of the Underground Railroad.
As a result of the head trauma she endured, Tubman would often have sleeping spells, during which she'd have visions. These visions helped guide her through the Underground Railroad and contributed greatly to her legendary capacity to avoid trouble while freeing other enslaved people. She never lost a passenger during her many trips from the Eastern Shore of Maryland to free states. During the Civil War, Tubman also served as a Union spy and a nurse. She also went on to contribute to the women's suffrage movement.
As Deirdre Cooper Owens wrote of Harriet Tubman, in Ms. Magazine, "She offered up a version of freedom where a disabled Black woman sat at the center of it, where Black women were liberators, and where liberation was communal and democratic."
Read more in Owens' thoughtful 2022 article, "Harriet Tubman's Disability and Why It Matters": https://msmagazine.com/2022/02/10/harriet-tubman-disability-democracy/
