Introducing our June Book Club Pick

She Came to Slay: The Life and Times of Harriet Tubman by Erica Armstrong Dunbar

I’m so excited to introduce you to our second Radical Women Book Club pick: She Came to Slay: The Life and Times of Harriet Tubman by Erica Armstrong Dunbar…

Known as the most prominent conductor of the Underground Railroad, Harriet Tubman did even more than personally escort about 70 slaves (including 30 from her own family) to the North at constant risk of capture and death.

Few know about her serving as a spy during the Civil War—under stunningly difficult conditions—where she also helped more than 750 slaves to freedom in South Carolina (and later waged a years-long fight to secure her war pension).

And fewer still have heard about her activism for women’s suffrage, having to battle the racism of her white former abolitionist partners to help secure the vote for all women.

Born enslaved in 1820’s Maryland, her path was set early when as a toddler, her 16-year-old sister was sold to a Mississippi slave trader. The grief her parents expressed at losing their daughter profoundly impacted Harriet—then known as Minty—and would motivate her throughout her life.

Several themes were at the heart of Harriet Tubman’s lifelong activism:

• A religious awakening from a broken skull at the hands of an overseer—and lifelong sleeping spells she believed were a “portal to her almighty”.

• The importance of family—rescuing them from harm; keeping them united; and ensuring they were physically and financially protected.

• Standing up for herself—and any underdog who needed her support for that matter—even at great personal cost.

• Maintaining deep and rich relationships across multiple spectrums of society.

"There was one of two things I had a right to—liberty or death. If I could not have one, I would have the other.” Harriet Tubman

A servant leader all her life, Harriet largely discounted physical danger, rising above unimaginable cruelty and fighting back whenever she could for the greater good. I can’t imagine a more Radical Woman—starting with so little, believing in her cause with every fiber of her being as she fundamentally changed the world as we know it.

I hope you find her every bit as inspiring as I did!

You can find the book at your local independent bookstore or use this link to my bookstore.org page which supports independent book sellers.

Stay tuned for discussion prompts (paid subscribers can jump into the community discussion), but feel free to comment on (or share) this post anytime…

Cheers,

Rochelle