Bound for the Promised Land: Harriet Tubman, Portrait of an American Hero

Harriet Tubman is one of the giants of American history—a fearless visionary who led scores of her fellow slaves to freedom and battled courageously behind enemy lines during the Civil War. Drawing from a trove of primary documents as well extensive genealogical research, Kate Clifford Larson's "Bound for the Promised Land" reveals Tubman as a complex woman—brilliant, shrewd, deeply religious, and passionate in her pursuit of freedom. 

The descendant of the vibrant, matrilineal Asanti people of the West African Gold Coast, Tubman was born into slavery on the Eastern Shore of Maryland but refused to spend her life in bondage. While still a young woman she embarked on a perilous journey of self-liberation—and then, having won her own freedom, she returned again and again to liberate much beloved family and friends, tapping into the Underground Railroad.

Since writing the first adult biography of Tubman, historian Kate Clifford Larson has consulted with numerous public history initiatives related to Harriet Tubman’s life and her role in the Underground Railroad. Larson is the author of several other biographies, as well. 

At this expanded book talk, she'll discuss new scholarship about Tubman—including the recently discovered portrait of her as a young woman—and ongoing efforts to memorialize this brave hero in her native Maryland and in New York state. 

Copies of "Bound for the Promised Land" will be available for purchase and signing at the event. 

This event is part of Arts Across Medford, a month-long festival curated by CACHE in Medford. Learn more at cacheinmedford.org/arts-across-medford