Establishing the HARRIET TUBMAN BYWAY in New York State

Why we celebrate Miss Tubman during and after slavery.

Harriet Tubman, 1922 – 1913, is an American heroine. Almost killed as a child when a 2 lb. iron was thrown at her head, she had a permanent injury as a result. And, she also had a determination to leave slavery forever. Alone, she made her way north. After a few years, she returned south, willing to guide those ready to go north into Canada, beyond the reach of slave-catchers. This journey was hard and treacherous. Moving at a clip, once started, the pistol-carrying leader allowed no one to turn back. With a bounty on her head and bounty hunters at her heels, she nor her companions were ever caught.

When the Civil War broke out, Miss Tubman was at times a guide, nurse, and spy for the Union. She was the first woman to head a military brigade in the United States. She is credited in having liberated over 700 enslaved persons during the war. Not heralded in her own time, we give honor to her now and for future generations.

Sage Hamilton Hazarika is the Corridor Coordinator for the Underground Railroad Consortium of New York State (URCNYS). In this role, he works between URCNYS’ partner heritage sites and their external collaborators to introduce the history of Abolition in New York State to various audiences. A marketing strategist in the travel and tourism industry, Sage crafted URCNYS’ brand and digital marketing presence as a domestic and international special-interest tourism category in New York State. Sage holds a BA in Marketing from Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, and he lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.