The Fight to Preserve Harriet Tubman’s Legacy Amidst Shifting National Priorities

The bronze bust of Harriet Tubman stands sentinel at the entrance of the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park’s visitor center in Church Creek, Maryland. Deanna Mitchell, the park’s superintendent, encourages visitors to reach out and touch the nape of the bust’s neck, to feel the symbolic representation of the scars Tubman endured in her fight for freedom. The bust faces North, a constant reminder of the direction Tubman led dozens of enslaved people towards liberation.

"It was a dark time," Mitchell emphasizes, encapsulating the brutal reality of slavery that Tubman courageously defied. The historical park, with its visitor center, serves as a crucial space for understanding and remembering this difficult chapter in American history.

Recently, Tubman’s legacy has been thrust back into the national spotlight, particularly after the Trump administration briefly removed information about the abolitionist from the National Park Service website. The image and accompanying quote were quickly reinstated following a wave of public outcry, but the incident raised concerns about a broader trend of downplaying the contributions of Black and Native American figures on federal platforms.

During his first three months in office, President Trump repeatedly criticized what he deemed "unfair ‘woke’ policies" designed to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). He specifically targeted the "revisionist" telling of American history, which, in his view, emphasizes negative aspects of the nation’s past. In a March 27th executive order, Trump argued that "Americans have witnessed a concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our Nation’s history, replacing objective facts with a distorted narrative driven by ideology rather than truth."

In contrast, the National Park Service, in recent years, has actively worked to preserve the histories of underrepresented groups. Millions of dollars were allocated last year alone to restore and build sites dedicated to sharing the stories of abolitionists like Tubman, as well as the experiences of Japanese Americans interned during World War II and the often-overlooked contributions of Mexican farmworkers.

However, historians, civil rights activists, and educators now fear that these efforts could be scaled back or even eliminated as the current administration seeks to reshape the government’s presentation of American history.

Bryan Stevenson, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, a prominent human rights organization, argues that focusing on racial injustice is not the problem. "Very few serious historians, scholars, or cultural experts think the problem in America is that we have talked too much about our history of racial injustice, the history of slavery and lynching and segregation," he states. "The problem has been the opposite."

Meeta Anand, senior director of Census and Data Equity at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, views the changes at the federal level as an attempt to control the narrative of America. "It represents a very deliberate effort to erase certain communities and the contributions communities have made," she asserts.

Back at the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park, Mitchell guides visitors through exhibits that meticulously detail Tubman’s remarkable life. She recounts how Tubman risked her own life repeatedly to help her family and other enslaved Black people escape to freedom along the Underground Railroad. "She lived a long life based on what she had to endure," Mitchell tells the group, underscoring the immense hardship Tubman faced and the resilience she demonstrated.

The center is one of two National Park Service sites dedicated to preserving Tubman’s story. The other is located in Auburn, New York, where Tubman spent her later years until her death at the age of 91. The Maryland center, co-managed by the Maryland Park Service, welcomed 30,000 visitors last year, many of whom were returning to delve deeper into Tubman’s history.

"Visitors actually are putting themselves in the space where she was and then they’re learning through guided tours," Mitchell explains. "They’re learning through tactile objects that they can touch and get information from."

Mitchell assures that she hasn’t received any indication of proposed cuts to the center’s funding, and the staff remains committed to its mission of helping people better understand history. Last April, the National Park Service highlighted $23.4 million in grants awarded to 39 projects aimed at preserving sites and stories related to African American efforts in the fight for equal rights.

Over time, the National Park Service has expanded its focus beyond nature and parks to encompass sites with significant historical value, Mitchell notes. "We realized as a service that history has tentacles," she says. "And there are cultural aspects of our history that need to be preserved and protected."

The Reidy family, visiting from Westchester, New York, was studying a map outside the Underground Railroad Visitor Center, planning their exploration of other Tubman-related sites. Tim and Kim Reidy brought their children, Elizabeth and Sam, to learn more about Tubman. "It seemed like an important and historically relevant aspect of the history of the place to bring them to," Kim Reidy explains. "I’m glad that places like this exist."

Elizabeth, 15, had already learned about Tubman in school, but emphasizes the importance of museums and dedicated spaces like this. "It’s so important to have museums and these spaces dedicated to this," she says. Tim Reidy adds that the family may also visit the Tubman center in Auburn. "It’s one thing to read about it, but to be in the actual physical space is a whole different experience," he notes. "You can see why people want to come here. You don’t want to lose that."

Rhonda Miller of Bowie, Maryland, and her daughter, Madison, joined Mitchell’s tour of the Tubman center. Miller, along with other members of Parents Helping Parents Together, a support group for parents of children with special needs, traveled two hours to reach the center. Miller, who grew up learning the basics about Tubman, and Madison, who had watched the 2019 movie "Harriet," were eager to learn more. "This was building on that, actually going to see places where she may have walked," Miller explains. "I love the way they put this museum together and presented the information. It was really amazing."

Miller believes that in light of efforts to erase Black history, it is particularly important for Madison to learn about it outside the classroom. "I would hate to see places like this disappear," Miller says after the visit. "We need them."

A few miles away in downtown Cambridge, William Jarmon, president of the Harriet Tubman Organization, a nonprofit that runs the Harriet Tubman Museum and Educational Center, gathers visitors to share Tubman’s history. Tubman spent the first 27 years of her life enslaved in this very region. The small museum features portraits of Tubman and exhibits detailing her life and work. A mural depicting Tubman with an outstretched hand adorns the side of the building.

Other tributes to Tubman’s legacy can be found throughout the county, including a statue outside the courthouse. Jarmon explains that the museum relies on tours and local support to sustain its mission. "We are making it our business to reach every generation, especially through the schools so that they will understand that its just not her story, but its all of our stories," Jarmon states.

Bryan Stevenson notes that institutions receiving federal funding are feeling pressure to scale back diversity programs. The Equal Justice Initiative operates three sites in Montgomery, Alabama, that focus on the Black experience, including a new sculpture park. These programs are privately funded.

"I hope this is a short-term problem because I really believe that the majority of people in Congress don’t want to defund our major museums and institutions, even if they don’t agree with every sentence in those museums," Stevenson says.

Some groups, including faith leaders, have increased their efforts to teach Black history. Others have bolstered their support for Black-run museums and programs, according to Cliff Albright, co-founder of Black Voters Matter. Nevertheless, he emphasizes that taxpayer-funded institutions should also prioritize this history. "Our expectation is that they treat our history with the respect that it deserves, even as some of us are looking at ways that we can ensure that that history gets maintained," Albright says.

Stevenson argues that these efforts must continue. "What we should not do is retreat from truth telling, retreat from honest and accurate history, from providing the full story," he urges. "That’s a recipe for disaster, for fostering ignorance." The fight to preserve and accurately represent the history of Harriet Tubman and other underrepresented groups is an ongoing one, requiring vigilance and commitment from individuals, organizations, and institutions alike. The future of how America understands its past hinges on this crucial endeavor.