Harriet Tubman's Legacy Alive And Well In Bucks County
By Cherri Gregg
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Freedom fighter Harriet Tubman made headlines when the U.S. Treasury announced she'd be the first woman to grace U.S. currency. But Tubman's legacy goes beyond the $20 bill. It's living in Bucks County.
A statue of Harriet Tubman stands along the Delaware River in Lions Park in Bristol Borough. She stands determined with her finger pointed to the North Star. At six-and-a-half feet tall, the statue is larger than the petite abolitionist, but just enough to demonstrate the size of the will needed to lead hundreds to freedom as part of the intricate network known as the Underground Railroad.
"She was a nurse, she was a spy, she was a caretaker, she was an abolitionist, she was a suffragist," says Louise Davis, a member of the African-American Historical Cultural Society of Bucks County. The group raised $170,000 through grants and fundraising to erect the statue a decade ago. But Davis shares another connection; her great-grandfather was Tubman's brother.
"I am the third cousin of Harriet Tubman," she says, noting that the fact was rarely discussed while growing up. "I heard from my grandfather once that she came to the house and they called her 'Hat.'"
An artist and historian, Davis re-enacts her cousin's life for students. She also collects books and other memorabilia, hoping one day the society opens a museum to store it all.
In the meantime, the African-American Historical Cultural Society of Bucks County will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Tubman statue in June.
