Episode description: You probably learned about Harriet Tubman in school growing up — how she led slaves to freedom on the underground railroad. But she was a lot more than an activist and freedom fighter. She was a daughter, wife, entrepreneur — and a talented outdoorswoman.

This bonus episode from the podcast Out There explores Tubman’s relationship with nature; we unpack how that history shapes the way Black Americans engage with the outdoors today; and we show how a closer look at Tubman could offer new perspectives on who belongs outdoors. Victoria Marin has the story.

Credits: This episode was inspired by the podcast Following Harriet and was produced in collaboration with INGREDIENT (https://www.ingredientcreative.com/) and the Virginia Tourism Corporation (https://www.virginia.org/harriet) To learn more about Virginia’s history and land as it relates to the Black experience, visit https://www.virginia.org/plan-your-trip/black-travel/.

Special thanks to Sheeba Joseph, who spearheaded the project, co-produced the episode, and facilitated the collaboration.

For Further Listening: In honor of Juneteenth, a holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States, we’ve compiled a playlist of stories that highlight Black experiences outdoors and celebrate the diverse and meaningful ways that African Americans engage with the natural world: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3U6y7GdHv6rHZ8OjUt3f3A. 

As we were really examining the experience of African Americans in the 19th Century, we discovered Rhiannon’s song, “At the Purchaser’s Option.”

Rhiannon was inspired to write this song after seeing an advertisement where a man was attempting to sell a young woman he had enslaved. The end of the ad said that the young woman for sale had a nine month old baby who was “at the purchaser’s option.”

We talk to Rhiannon here about the song, her music and Harriet Tubman.

If you’d like to learn more about visiting places that tell the story of Harriet Tubman, The Underground Railroad and the 19th Century African American experience, especially in the state of Virginia, go to https://www.virginia.org/harriet.

“Following Harriet” was produced by INGREDIENT (https://www.ingredientcreative.com/) with Tanner Latham as executive producer and Tanya Ott as the writer and director.

”Following Harriet” is sponsored by the Virginia Tourism Corporation and the Virginia Film Office. 

In this episode we heard from historians Ed Ayers, Elvatrice Belschese, Jessica Millward (Finding Charity's Folk), Catherine Clinton (Harriet Tubman: The Road to Freedom) and Erica Armstrong Dunbar (She Came to Slay: The Life and Times of Harriet Tubman). We also heard from Niya Bates and Gayle Jessup White from Jefferson’s Monticello, Christian Cotz from Madison’s Montpelier, Stephanie Arduini of the American Civil War Museum, Kasi Lemmons, director of the new Focus Features biopic called Harriet, and Malcolm “Jamie” Jamieson, who owns the Berkeley Plantation where parts of the film were shot. 

If you’d like to learn more about visiting places that tell the story of Harriet Tubman, The Underground Railroad and the 19th Century African American experience, especially in the state of Virginia, go to https://www.virginia.org/harriet.

“Following Harriet” was produced by INGREDIENT (https://www.ingredientcreative.com/) with Tanner Latham as executive producer and Tanya Ott as the writer and director.

”Following Harriet” is sponsored by the Virginia Tourism Corporation and the Virginia Film Office. Special research thanks to the Black History Museum in Richmond and the City of Petersburg, Virginia and the Petersburg Preservation Task Force.

In this episode, we travel to museums throughout Virginia and to the presidential homes of Thomas Jefferson (Monticello) and James Madison (Montpelier) to hear how the stories of that African American experience are being told today.

We hear from Eola Dance and Robin Reed from Fort Monroe, historians Ed Ayers of the Backstory history podcast and Elvatrice Belsches, Niya Bates and Gayle Jessup White from Jefferson’s Monticello. Christian Cotz from Madison’s Montpelier and Stephanie Arduini of the American Civil War Museum. 

If you’d like to learn more about visiting places that tell the story of Harriet Tubman, The Underground Railroad and the 19th Century African American experience, especially in the state of Virginia, go to https://www.virginia.org/harriet.

“Following Harriet” was produced by INGREDIENT (https://www.ingredientcreative.com/) with Tanner Latham as executive producer and Tanya Ott as the writer and director.

”Following Harriet” is sponsored by the Virginia Tourism Corporation and the Virginia Film Office.  Special research thanks to the Black History Museum in Richmond and the City of Petersburg, Virginia and the Petersburg Preservation Task Force.

In this episode we hear from several historians – Erica Armstrong Dunbar from Rutgers University, Catherine Clinton from the University of Texas-San Antonio, Jessica Millward of the University of California Irvine, and Elvatrice Belsches. 

If you’d like to learn more about visiting places that tell the story of Harriet Tubman, The Underground Railroad and the 19th Century African American experience, especially in the state of Virginia, go to https://www.virginia.org/harriet.

“Following Harriet” was produced by INGREDIENT (https://www.ingredientcreative.com/) with Tanner Latham as executive producer and Tanya Ott as the writer and director.

”Following Harriet” is sponsored by the Virginia Tourism Corporation and the Virginia Film Office. Special research thanks to the Black History Museum in Richmond and the City of Petersburg, Virginia and the Petersburg Preservation Task Force.

That was it. That was the end of the story we got. But Harriet Tubman was so much more than that. She was a wife and mother, an entrepreneur, a soldier, a spy, a nurse and an activist who fought for women’s right to vote.

“Following Harriet” is a podcast that takes a closer look at the life of Harriet, one of the bravest and most extraordinary women in our country’s history. Through interviews with leading historians, educators and even the director of the upcoming Focus Features film Harriet, it puts the American icon in a broader context and examines the 19th Century experience of African Americans, especially in Virginia.

New episodes start October 22, 2019.

If you’d like to learn more about visiting places that tell the story of Harriet Tubman, The Underground Railroad and the 19th Century African American experience, especially in the state of Virginia, go to https://www.virginia.org/harriet.

This trailer features historians Catherine Clinton, the Denman Chair of American History at the University of Texas in San Antonio and author of Harriet Tubman: Road to Freedom as well as Erica Armstrong Dunbar, the Charles and Mary Beard Professor of History at Rutgers University and author of She Came to Slay: The Life and Times of Harriet Tubman.

“Following Harriet” was produced by INGREDIENT (https://www.ingredientcreative.com/) with Tanner Latham as executive producer and Tanya Ott as the writer and director.

”Following Harriet” is sponsored by the Virginia Tourism Corporation and the Virginia Film Office.