CAMBRIDGE, Md. - On the 176th anniversary of her first attempt to escape slavery, Harriet Tubman’s descendants joined state and local leaders Wednesday afternoon to unveil a new historical marker honoring her life and legacy.
The ceremony was held at the Harriet Tubman Freedom Center in Dorchester County, the same county where Tubman was born in 1822. The event also fell during International Underground Railroad Month, which Maryland officially recognizes each September to honor Tubman and others who risked their lives to fight slavery.
The new marker replaces an older sign from 1967 that contained several inaccuracies. The original sign listed Tubman as being from Bucktown, though she was actually born about 10 miles away on the farm of Anthony Thompson. It also claimed she rescued 300 people from slavery, a number historians have since corrected to around 70 confirmed escapes. Finally, the original sign was not written with input from Tubman’s family, something that descendants say was corrected this time around.
Julie Schablitsky, chief archaeologist with the Maryland Department of Transportation, said the involvement of Tubman’s relatives was central to the project.
“Part of our mission at MDOT is to make sure that American history is celebrated no matter what the backstory might be,” Schablitsky said. “While it might be uncomfortable for people to talk about slavery or to think about Harriet Tubman and what she had to endure, it is important because only when we can go ahead and look at where we’ve been can we move forward.”
For Tubman’s descendants, the unveiling was more than a symbolic gesture. Ernestine “Tina” Wyatt, Tubman’s great-great-great-grandniece, said the new marker reflects the values her ancestor lived by.
“She was a courageous woman. She was a woman of faith. She was a woman that looked at family and also did not leave our friends. So freedom was on her mind always,” Wyatt said.
Other family members voiced concerns about recent changes to how Tubman’s story is presented nationally. Some federal websites have removed or altered descriptions of her life, raising fears about erasure.
Tonet Cuffee, another descendant, said those moves only reinforce the importance of local preservation efforts.
“Without knowing our history and where we come from, we will never know our strength,” Cuffee said. “All of that is part of her legacy. All of that made her who she is.”
The new marker will soon be installed along Greenbrier Road near Tubman’s childhood home, ensuring her story remains rooted in the place where it began.