Edith turned it over to the National Trust in 1961 on her death. It has been lovingly cared for. We welcome you tonight. I wanted to tell you about how we started this speaker series. Manager said to me this summer when i first started the job there is a commission on the suffrage and i think we should go to that meeting. It is the womens Suffrage Centennial commission. I said ok. I will go with you. We went down to the library of congress and we sat at a big table. They were about 20 women in the root. A big square table. There were another 20 women on the telephone. Everyone goes around introducing themselves. They are from the alice paul house, this commission and that commission. From the National Portrait gallery. All these places. It comes around to us and introduce myself. Im from the Woodrow Wilson house. Suck and a collectives sigh, and maybe one or two cases of whiplash. There was no oxygen left in the room. They turned to look to us to say, do you know where you are . What are you doing here . Yes. Who are these crazy women attending this meeting . Hi said we are not crazy. We are passionate. We are passionate about telling stories. We are passionate about telling inclusive, diverse stories in this house. That is why it all formulated. It is my pleasure to have you here to start this with us. We are embarking on something we are very excited about. You that i will introduce lets see. I am thrilled that karen is here. The womans Suffrage Centennial commission was created by congress in 2017 to ensure suitable observance of the centennial of the passage and ratification of the 19th constitution to provide for womens suffrage. Collins, andsusan a Bipartisan Group of women leaders. They have welcomed us, truly welcomed us and embraced us, helping to commemorate history, celebrate the story and educate future generations of learners and leaders. Karen hill is here tonight. She is the president and ceo of the Harriet Tubman home and National Historic park, which was established to operate the home of Harriet Tubman. In her role, karen hill shares core values with visitors who two of the property tour the property. She also established tubmans home as a National Historic park. Please help me with a warm welcome to karen hill. [applause] karen good evening, everyone. Good evening, everyone. Thank you for coming tonight. It is such a pleasure to see you all in attendance tonight. Hillt to thank ms. Karen and i look forward to a brilliant conversation. As elizabeth said i am the curator of the house here at Woodrow Wilsons final home. After the presidency he moved into this home from the white house in march of 1921 and lived here until 1924. Two years ago with the leadership of the National Trust of Historic Preservation and in concert with the Woodrow Wilson house decided it was extremely important and urgent to address Woodrow Wilsons legacy on race by exploring more African American history of the era and that era was preceded wilsons presidency and to highlight womens history in particular because Woodrow Wilson was in office when the 19th amendment was ratified. Tos first series is starting look back at the beginnings of the movement. What is the connection with Woodrow Wilson and Harriet Tubman. Obviously is one of the most famous women, people, africanamericans in u. S. History. We thought it would be interesting to explore one of her lesserknown legacies, her role not just for womens suffrage and supporting that movement but for womens rights more broadly. We will get into conversations about that. First your mic should be on. Most of us are familiar with Harriet Tubman, the leader of the underground railroad. The moses of her people as she was called and brought enslaved people from the south to the north seeking freedom. She emancipated herself. Looking back to the Womens Suffrage Movement and understanding the Falls Convention happened in 1848, Harriet Kevin was still enslaved in maryland. Harriet tubman Harriet Tubman west dylans Harriet Tubman was still enslaved in maryland. As well as with african wreck in womens clubs like the National Association of colored women. Storyering her amazing from enslaved to free, and the racial divide within the s stance onbman womens suffrage and how did she articulate her position . Karen that is a great question and good evening everybody. Glad to be here. Let me tell you a little bit about tubman first. I think it is easier to kind of back into where she stood on the question of suffrage. It is complicated history. How many if you have seen the movie harriet . A good number of people. Had thisHarriet Tubman innate ability to see far beyond her circumstance. Far beyond. Values. Seven core family,reedom, justice, social selfdetermination and equality. Those were her touchstones. Enslaved ine was maryland. For those of you who saw the movie, you know the power of faith. Her faith guided her walk, her steps. That is what led her to her freedom journey for herself and principally her family and friends. About 70 people from the Eastern Shore of maryland and provided direct instruction for 70 more. In the quest for her to have a more personal relationship with deeper. She went that is a part of a liberation theology. Testament to liberation theology. When you said she was emancipated, her coming from the Eastern Shore of maryland up through Saint Catherine and as auburn, that was an important but only part of her liberation theology. Harriet as thinks of familiar with the underground railroad and all she did, not to diminish that because it provided Frederick Douglass the Empirical Data he needed to have for his gift of oratory to talk about the importance of the value of freedom. Walket, through her faith new that was what knew that was one part of her emancipation. That is how she got to suffrage. Ok . It was becoming free along the Eastern Shore, and then becoming more emancipated as a woman in her own right. If you saw the movie, she was always challenging people were challenging her. You cant do this. I can do this. Dont tell me what i cant do. That was very profound. Dont tell me what i cant do. I know what i can do. She was very determined. She took very good care of her vessel. She lived to be 91 years of age taking good care of her vessel while continuing her work. Pacifist, buta she knew there were some just wars. I. E. , the civil war. Person,why she lent her herself to that journey. And she challenged the u. S. Army. She was a nurse scout and spy. She actually led the first armed raid by a woman into battle. Along the combi river in south carolina. I have been on the banks when they dedicated it to Harriet Tubman. They dedicated the bridge that runs along beaufort and college counties. When i was doing the research about that i discovered that highway 17 was determined by the department of transportation. It is one of the most dangerous roads in america. One of the most perilous. I said, how perfect is it that harriet would be a part of the process of adjusting that and bringing people together and connecting people . Continuespation today. It continues today because we see it in all the murals that we see everywhere we go. We see harriet being depicted. In some places are not pleased but depicted everywhere nonetheless. Suffrage, she knew she was stepping into auburn. They dont teach geography in school anymore. Auburn are innd central new york. Very different from new york city. It is like it is two states. Central new york, upstate new york, downstate. People are more familiar with downstate. Auburn and seneca falls or maybe 20 miles from each other in the same locale. The Abolitionist Movement was very fervent in auburn. When she decided to settle in auburn she knew she needed to be at least in an environment politically where the question of free or slave was already asked and answered. But still segregation still existed in auburn. Createdn her property nine cottages that were a series of homes. The home for the agent and couldnt negroes so they age with dignity and grace because auburn has at home for the aged. At the time it was segregated. Blacks were not admitted into the home. Was unjust but she knew she had an ability to do something about it. Her emancipation im sorry. I know we will talk about suffrage but i have to share this. Her emancipation was also economic freedom. She knew becoming a landowner was a part of that economic freedom. That is what allowed her to bring her family ultimately up from the Eastern Shore tolerant with to auburn where they settled. That is where she had the nine cottages on the property where she housed seniors, africanamerican seniors. That is where she provided Free Universal Health Care to everybody at the john brown hall. This was a woman who just saw freedom through a lot of different lenses. Like we are just now on the cusp of this country of a turning point. Turning point. I got even there. How do we go forward with that legacy . Because was really key what was happening is that Elizabeth Cady stanton and susan wickedny and others food out of these halls when they would try to talk about suffrage. They would be black men in the the fact thatse women for going to get the vote does everybody know what happened . Women got the vote and then states determined to take the vote away from black men. From black men. Africanamerican men through the 15th amendment. States began to pull back. That was for tubman quite a dilemma. To advance women getting the vote, not including herself, and specificallyn very , their right to vote was going to be abridged. There was not going to be there. That put her in a real physical difficult situation. Anthony and the other women part of the leadership of the movement knew that they needed a speaker like harriet. They need is with intestinal fortitude to advance the suffrage argument. She advancedhat if suffrage as a concept, one that was theote, bigger victory to have and then to still fight on for enfranchisement of all americans. It is amazing that someone born a slave could see beyond their own circumstance. That doesnt happen. They could see beyond their own circumstance and advocate fully for her to be for women to get the vote. It is still a real difficult story to tell because there were other women of color who were scholars, who wanted to really be a part of this, who were marginalized in the suffrage argument. But tubman stood her ground. Was,all in stature as she she was twice as large in a room like this. She stayedike this until midnight to hear all she had to say. She had them opening their pocketbooks. I will not ask you for money. [laughter] and herthis ability faith fueled all of her work. Peoples something that were not comfortable with for a long time. It has only been more recently, but the suffragist, particularly amongst the leaders some quite frankly were very racist. It was with cady stanton and Frederick Douglass were great friends, but she called blacks sambo. He took her to task on that. She did not see anything wrong with it. She allowed him to stay at her house when he needed to. He eulogized her. Not a lot of people also know that Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, and Frederick Douglass all commit of the liberation theology of the freedom church, which is the african methodist episcopal zion church. I have a zion minister here with me this evening. Finding in auburn, there was a zion church there. That is where she felt like it had everything. It had a vibrant Abolitionist Movement. Menad progressive women and who believed in suffrage, womens suffrage. Leaderhad most important the church. Was fed andre she nurtured. I think the argument about tubman and savage needs to be talked about a lot more because it really gets into what battle are we willing to take up that will advance society beyond our own personal situation . How many of us can ask, what are we doing to make a difference beyond our own personal situation . Asantewa i think that is one of the lessons of Harriet Tubmans legacy. He talked about you mentioned the choice that Harriet Tubman had to make as far as being a black woman in a movement that was quite frankly racist, and thought that many times, and those that know the history well, there was a split between the stanton wing that wanted to take the more conservative statebystate approach that included not supporting africanamerican mens right to vote, to the more radical wing that thought the constitutional amendment was not negotiable and should move forward and were more welcoming to africanamerican women. I want to pick up on that point about that choice. If you could talk more about Harriet Tubmans role in the beginnings of the African AmericanClub Movement and the National Association of colored women. These women who history may not mark as separate just because they did not dedicate exclusively to suffrage, but because of the society, the idea that freedom goes beyond my situation. Iblack woman i cant should not be forced to choose between vote for myself or vote against my people. Karen i want to say that the colored womens club, they actually if you ever come to auburn and you see her headstone, the empire state chapter actually paid for her headstone that is there today. The original headstone broke many, many years ago. They dedicated the headstone because tubman was one of them. She was one of them. They were hers. There was no separation. I think that is the thing that tubman helped people to understand, that we can be together and then there are journeys i have to take that you may not be able to join. It does not separate us, but i am advancing something else. I do believe very strongly that god had predestined tubman to do amazing things. Because time and again she went beyond, beyond the average person. Scheduled to be with john brown at harpers ferry, but they kept changing the date. That had ity god outlined that they changed the date and she did not feel well on the day it was scheduled. Travel was going to be too much for her. That is the only reason she was not at harpers ferry, because god had more work for her to do. Some people found john brown too zealous. Understoodest she that she understood the struggle and the pain and the angst that africanamericans endured with slavery. Becausenot see it as you are white you could not possibly understand what im going through. That takes a special individual to be able to see life through that lens. Woman who she was a could neither read nor write. How amazing is that . She could not read nor write but she understood god. There is something that happens on the inside that came out in walk. Lk, her every day this is a woman who could not read or write, but if you came park now, you would see her bible. She could not read nor write, but her bible is there. Could not read nor write, but her hymnal was a part she wanted to have those songs. She wanted the hymnal. Input her closer to that. Could not read nor write. Could not read nor write. If you hear some of the oral histories of longtime all bernie their auburnians, grandparents told them how tubman gave them fruits and vegetables when they brought her a good report card. Auburnians. Hite she valued education and excellence. Could not read nor write, but she took care of, her protein her carbs, the balance of everything. Walking. On her farm she grew she had a vegetable garden. She had animal husbandry. Propagating the last of the original apple trees. Will be able to offer you a tubman variety apple. At her favorite fruit was the strawberry. I have a hard time taking strawberry off a chocolate cake, but tubman knew was the better choice for me. Industryhe health care is going to find a way this is an example of how we age with dignity and grace and keep ourselves healthy. This is a woman well into her 80s it was still traveling independently back and forth. Haw passed away she made the trip from auburn to boston, and that is still not easy today to traverse. But tubman did it. It is because she understood that america was greater, that the promise of america was greater then what it had exhibited in her lifetime. Journey said in need to plug into those pieces where i can make a difference. Suffrage, i to believe tubman really supported women who believed intemperance. This was consensus who believed in temperance. This was consistent. She was unaligned that community. Knew clearly that black woman for being marginalized. She was determined that she was not going to allow them to thisnalize the voice of black woman, of herself. She knew she was speaking not only for herself but for her sisters who had been marginalized. Coming out of thecoming out of n theology, we know how later Sojourner Truth picked up that mantle. That is not an accident. That is not an accident. That is one woman empowering with her voice another woman. It is likely drum. People understand the power of the drum. The d