A Movie Review by Luana M. Graves Sellars
The new movie, Harriett, has stirred up a lot of conversations about its factual or fictional aspects. In Harriett: The Movie Review – Part One, I alluded to facts, which I think are relevant to Harriett Tubman’s historical significance as an American heroine that should have been included in the film.
Most of us know about Harriett’s participation in the Underground Railroad as a conductor making roughly 13 trips into the south. What the film missed the opportunity to share was that not only did she undertake daring and life-threatening escapes, but she did so while experiencing tremendous head pain from an injury sustained as a child. After being hit in the head with a metal weight, she suffered from hypersomnia, which caused her excessive sleepiness. The resulting pain and dizziness were debilitating enough to cause her to frequently pass out, as well as experience visions. After years of suffering from headaches, Harriett underwent brain surgery without anesthesia to relieve the pain, which diminished somewhat.
Using the incredible life-long pain that Harriett Tubman experienced as a backdrop, she became the first black woman and former slave to become an advisor to President Lincoln, as well as several Union Army Generals. Her political influence affected Lincoln’s decision to allow slaves to enlist as US Colored Troops and fight during the Civil War when the Union Army needed additional soldiers to bolster their ranks. In addition, she was recognized as a valuable political advisor, who helped shape the Port Royal Experiment, which after the Civil War, gave newly freed slaves the opportunity to begin the process of establishing themselves as freedmen, as well as become educated.
Militarily, Harriett Tubman was also considered a valuable asset, and made a significant impact on the Union Army’s strategic planning, due to her knowledge of the south that she gained from transporting slaves. Harriett was involved in several important raids, some of which she lead as an armed scout and spy, which was an uncommon role for a woman at the time.
In the Beaufort area of South Carolina, she led the Combahee River Raid, in which she helped free over 750 slaves, yet she was still seen as a woman who could not be paid for any of her military contributions. During her stay on Hilton Head Island, General Ormsby Mitchel, who established Mitchelville, the first town for freedmen in 1862, prior to the end of the Civil War, allowed her to work as a nurse and sell pies to the soldiers for income.
For years, Harriett continued to be politically active in the civil rights of slaves, as well as the women’s suffrage movement. Ultimately, in her advanced years, Harriett moved to Auburn, New York, where she was able to purchase land from her friend, Senator William Seward, where she developed a compound that included a home for her parents and herself, in addition to establishing a home for the aged, where indigent former slaves could live.
Harriett Tubman’s Auburn, NY Home 
Harriett Tubman’s Home for the Aged in Auburn, NY
As you can see, Harriett: The Movie is the perfect vehicle to tell her complete story. The film provided a great platform to inform and educate people about all of the incredible things that she accomplished, yet, as you can see, there are so many important elements of her life that should have been shared. This film is the first real commercial opportunity to tell her story and in my opinion, as much information as possible should have been included. Standing at a mere 4’11”, Harriett Tubman led an extraordinarily impressive life. Her story is truly an amazing American story; one that everyone should know.
Harriett: The Movie Review – Part One
Read how one woman is keeping African American history and the memory of Harriett Tubman alive
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