Congresswoman Maloney Reintroduces Bill to Honor Harriet Tubman with Capitol Statue

Statement

This Harriet Tubman Day, Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) has reintroduced the Honoring Harriet Tubman Act, bipartisan legislation to place a statue of abolitionist hero Harriet Tubman in the U.S. Capitol, on the date we recognize as her 200th birthday.

"Harriet Tubman dedicated her entire life to fighting for freedom and the disenfranchised. She risked her life to escape slavery in the North, and then continued to do so to help others," said Rep. Maloney. "She was famously never caught and never lost a single person, earning her the nickname "the Moses of her people.' Beyond her role in the Underground Railroad, she served her country in the Civil War and joined the women's suffrage movement. Her unwavering commitment to freedom and human rights in all forms makes Harriet Tubman a true American hero and her legacy deserves to be honored in the halls of the United States Capitol."

"Harriet Tubman walked her pathway to Freedom with God's help! She returned at least 19 times to help others be free through the Underground Railroad... Her legacy will continue," said Pauline Copes Johnson, great-great grand Niece to Harriet Tubman.

"Harriet Tubman was an icon despite not having the ability to read; her legacy continues through her descendants at the Harriet Tubman Learning Center (HTLC) -- We will Keep Going," said Rita Daniels, President & Founder of the Harriet Tubman Learning Center and great-great-great grand Niece to Harriet Tubman.

"On this 200th anniversary of the birth of the most famous Black woman in U.S. history, it is important to note a little-known aspect of this remarkable person. Harriet Tubman's courage and determination not only indelibly shaped the abolition movement, but she was a bridge to the nascent women's rights movement. Working with major leaders in both camps, Tubman campaigned to end slavery, while calling attention to women's second-class status without the right to vote. Tubman was a dedicated "agitator' with other famous feminist leaders, many considered radical. They changed popular notions about the abilities of women beyond the home and the need for full suffrage -- and, of course, the need for Emancipation since many were also abolitionists. Following the end of the Civil War, Tubman committed the rest of her life to pursue equality for Black Americans and for all women -- which she did until her death on March 10, 1913. Tubman's leadership, no doubt, has inspired generations of Black women to take up the cause of equality and the right to vote which carries on to this moment. The National Organization for Women commends legislation offered by Rep. Carolyn Maloney that would grant long overdue recognition of Harriet Tubman by authorizing a statue of this great hero in National Statuary Hall of the U.S. Capitol," said Christian F. Nunes, National Organization for Women (NOW) President.

"An original trailblazer in defending democracy, Harriet Tubman's legacy represents the power of women to uphold justice in our country. We celebrate this legislation that would honor her strength and dedication as a defender of human rights in its rightful place among other significant leaders in Statuary Hall," said Virginia Kase Solomón, League of Women Voters CEO.

"National Action Network's Washington Bureau applauds Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney's (D-NY), long standing efforts to preserve Freedom Fighter Harriet Tubman's legacy. We support these efforts to have her statue placed at the eponymous domed building that symbolizes American democracy. Most Americans know Harriet Tubman as the fearless woman who plotted her freedom escaping slavery and returning to the South nineteen times, and bringing away with her over three hundred other enslaved people to freedom as part of the Underground Railroad. But Tubman wasn't only a hero of the Underground Railroad; she was part of a small scouting unit that collected intelligence behind enemy lines of the Confederacy. She was a nurse and liberator, she represents women who throughout history did important work often in the shadow of others. We urge other Members to join this bill," said Ebonie Riley, Senior Vice President of Policy & Strategic Partnerships, National Action Network's Washington Bureau.

This bill has over 100 original bipartisan cosponsors, and is endorsed by the Harriet Tubman Learning Center, National Organization for Women, League of Women Voters, and the National Action Network.

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