Harriet Tubman, born Araminta Ross, escaped from slavery in 1849. She could have stayed away from Maryland, the place of her violent bondage. She could have found a new life of freedom and never turned back. “When I found I had crossed that line," she later told a biographer, "I looked at my hands to see if I was the same person. There was such a glory over everything; the sun came like gold through the trees, and over the fields, and I felt like I was in Heaven.” But she went back, again and again, to rescue others, returning perhaps 13 times in all. “My father, my mother, my brothers and sisters and friends were there,” she said. “I was free, and they should be free.”
The bravery of this tough and tiny woman, said to be no more than five feet tall, is indisputable. But it’s her devotion to the welfare of others, at such extraordinary risk to her own chances of survival, that touches me most. Hear how Frederick Douglass summarized the difference between her and him in a letter for the 1868 biography, Scenes in the Life of Harriet Tubman: “I have had the applause of the crowd and the satisfaction that comes of being approved by the multitude, while the most that you have done has been witnessed by a few trembling, scarred, and foot-sore bondmen and women, whom you have led out of the house of bondage, and whose heartfelt ‘God bless you’ has been your only reward.”
I’ve chosen to focus here on this singular historical figure—expected to finally be seen on the twenty dollar bill in 2030—but I could have featured my daughters, whose evolution as thoughtful and compassionate people continues to inspire me. But what about you? Who inspires you? And why? I look forward to reading your responses, just as I know many others here will also value hearing from each other.
Dr. Fauci inspires me. He has spent his entire career tackling the really difficult health issues. He would not let politics sway him. He continues to follow the science and live by the science. He is honest and clearly focuses on making the healthcare world a better place.
Rev William Barber of NC inspires me more every day. He and Rev Liz co chair the Poor Peoples Campaign, a continuation of MLK’s legacy. His powerful speeches and sermons show a love of the truth and justice and a willingness to fight for those things in our policies. When you lift from the bottom, everybody rises. Forward together not on step back! Fight poverty not the poor! These are some of our movement slogans. Please check it out.
Two people have inspired me in the past and still hold a place of greatness in my heart. They were my former daughter in law and my son. Her friend's mother, a general doctor , misdiagnosed her. Swollen lymph nodes on side of neck plus a slight fever were from a cold, she said, and was treated as such. A couple of years went by, she met my son who was a very particular fellow with girls. If they ever called him, that was the end. Not with her. They dated. She got sicker. At last, by the right person, she was diagnosed with Hodgkins Disease. Steroids made her face puffy. She had a hysterectomy to stop formation of hormones. When she was in the hospital getting T cell injections, my son gave her a diamond engagement ring. Most others would have hightailed it, but he loved her. She started to feel somewhat better, and they married, honeymooned in Bermuda. She enrolled in Fairleigh Dickinson University in NJ, elementary education, started having relapses, but kept on studying. People would yell at her when she parked in the handicapped space, for she did not limp or otherwise look sick, but she was. She even make herself complete student teaching except for the final couple of weeks as she became too weak. She needed a wheelchair. She started to lose her sight and got special glasses that helped a little.She had a tracheostomy inserted which my son would need to cleanse often. She often had to remain in bed. That, inside her chest, must have been sharp as it cut through blood vessels, maybe aorta?, and sitting out on deck with son and friends, blood started pouring out. By the time ambulance came, she was nearly dead. The hospital kept giving transfusions , but she just ejected them. She was flat lining. Son had to call it. Almost killed him. At the wake, he left before they opened the casket; didn't want to remember her that way. At the funeral, he gave a beautiful speech. Told people not to feel sorry, that they had had a wonderful time together. Meanwhile, he told me he almost needed to see a psychologist to let it out. His hair turned grey almost overnight. An attempt to sue dr who wrongly inserted that in her came to naught as one lawyer on his own did not have the money or time to pursue it. Others could not get any doctor to testify against another.
She was pretty and I would describe her as sweet, something not many women are. The only time I ever saw her cry was when she talked of never being able to have children. She smiled often. Never complained.
I think of people like John Edwards and Newt Gingrich who kept mistresses while their wives battled cancer. They can't hold a candle to my son. He mourned her for three years, then, married one of wife's friends. A life taken 3 days before her 33rd birthday made possible the lives of two grandchildren. It is hard to understand life.
thomas paine...an immigrant whose inspirational writing in the voice of the common man, inspired a nation of citizen soldiers to combat tyranny..."these are the times that try men's souls..."
Roz Franklin, female scientist, who along with Watson & Crick discovered the double helix of DNA. She rarely gets a mention but was a leading pioneer for women in science.
You never know what you are capable of until you lose everything. After my husband died and a tornado destroyed my home, I was alone and homeless. I began to read my Bible and pray. The scriptures gave me peace and hope so I could rise above my troubles. I find inspiration in the daily lives and struggles of ordinary people. You know stop, look and listen and there it is, the will to persevere
My own inspirational historical hero is Charles Evans Hughes. He inspires me because his combination of intelligence, hard work, integrity, and public service led to his outstanding service in so many important positions: Governor of New York, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, Secretary of State, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
Dr. Fauci inspires me. He has spent his entire career tackling the really difficult health issues. He would not let politics sway him. He continues to follow the science and live by the science. He is honest and clearly focuses on making the healthcare world a better place.
Rev William Barber of NC inspires me more every day. He and Rev Liz co chair the Poor Peoples Campaign, a continuation of MLK’s legacy. His powerful speeches and sermons show a love of the truth and justice and a willingness to fight for those things in our policies. When you lift from the bottom, everybody rises. Forward together not on step back! Fight poverty not the poor! These are some of our movement slogans. Please check it out.
Two people have inspired me in the past and still hold a place of greatness in my heart. They were my former daughter in law and my son. Her friend's mother, a general doctor , misdiagnosed her. Swollen lymph nodes on side of neck plus a slight fever were from a cold, she said, and was treated as such. A couple of years went by, she met my son who was a very particular fellow with girls. If they ever called him, that was the end. Not with her. They dated. She got sicker. At last, by the right person, she was diagnosed with Hodgkins Disease. Steroids made her face puffy. She had a hysterectomy to stop formation of hormones. When she was in the hospital getting T cell injections, my son gave her a diamond engagement ring. Most others would have hightailed it, but he loved her. She started to feel somewhat better, and they married, honeymooned in Bermuda. She enrolled in Fairleigh Dickinson University in NJ, elementary education, started having relapses, but kept on studying. People would yell at her when she parked in the handicapped space, for she did not limp or otherwise look sick, but she was. She even make herself complete student teaching except for the final couple of weeks as she became too weak. She needed a wheelchair. She started to lose her sight and got special glasses that helped a little.She had a tracheostomy inserted which my son would need to cleanse often. She often had to remain in bed. That, inside her chest, must have been sharp as it cut through blood vessels, maybe aorta?, and sitting out on deck with son and friends, blood started pouring out. By the time ambulance came, she was nearly dead. The hospital kept giving transfusions , but she just ejected them. She was flat lining. Son had to call it. Almost killed him. At the wake, he left before they opened the casket; didn't want to remember her that way. At the funeral, he gave a beautiful speech. Told people not to feel sorry, that they had had a wonderful time together. Meanwhile, he told me he almost needed to see a psychologist to let it out. His hair turned grey almost overnight. An attempt to sue dr who wrongly inserted that in her came to naught as one lawyer on his own did not have the money or time to pursue it. Others could not get any doctor to testify against another.
She was pretty and I would describe her as sweet, something not many women are. The only time I ever saw her cry was when she talked of never being able to have children. She smiled often. Never complained.
I think of people like John Edwards and Newt Gingrich who kept mistresses while their wives battled cancer. They can't hold a candle to my son. He mourned her for three years, then, married one of wife's friends. A life taken 3 days before her 33rd birthday made possible the lives of two grandchildren. It is hard to understand life.
thomas paine...an immigrant whose inspirational writing in the voice of the common man, inspired a nation of citizen soldiers to combat tyranny..."these are the times that try men's souls..."
Roz Franklin, female scientist, who along with Watson & Crick discovered the double helix of DNA. She rarely gets a mention but was a leading pioneer for women in science.
You never know what you are capable of until you lose everything. After my husband died and a tornado destroyed my home, I was alone and homeless. I began to read my Bible and pray. The scriptures gave me peace and hope so I could rise above my troubles. I find inspiration in the daily lives and struggles of ordinary people. You know stop, look and listen and there it is, the will to persevere
I was born in Chicago, a city that rightly honors Ida B. Wells. Tireless, formidable investigative journalist.
Definitely, Harriet Tubman's grit & determination to rescue others regardless of the extreme dangers to herself, is very, very inspiring to me!!!
Philo Farnsworth. Iowa farm boy who invented television…
My own inspirational historical hero is Charles Evans Hughes. He inspires me because his combination of intelligence, hard work, integrity, and public service led to his outstanding service in so many important positions: Governor of New York, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, Secretary of State, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.