Harriet Tubman may have done more than any other black woman in America to fight the evils of slavery. She was born a slave—Minty Ross—about 1822, on a Maryland farm. She had every reason to mire herself in despair. First, she should not have been a slave at all, even under the cruel laws of that time. Paperwork freed her, and her mother, as her mother reached the age of 45—but she was not freed, because evil people chose greed and dishonored their contracts. Second, she endured great physical pain. She was struck a sharp blow on the head at the age of 13 which gave her lifelong difficulties and pain.  But that cruel blow also gave her dreams and visions of freedom. Harriet would not stay caged. She escaped and gained her freedom. And she could have lived free.

But, because her friends and family were still enslaved, she risked her freedom, over and over again, to return to Maryland and smuggle them out, making 19 such trips in the decade preceding the Civil War. She became a “conductor” on the underground railroad, leading at least 70 people out of slavery.

One story about Harriet Tubman illustrates power and mercy extraordinarily well. It was the mid 1850s, and she was leading a group of men and women northward to freedom, traveling at night and following a route she had traversed before. One of the men, long into the journey, suddenly announced that he wanted to return to slavery. Now, Harriet knew that if that man returned, it would be a catastrophe. He would reveal the route, the stops on the way, and the tricks she had learned to safeguard her charges on the journey. Many would suffer persecution and possibly death because of his decision, if he carried it out. So, she did not hesitate. She raised her pistol, drew a bead on his forehead, and told him “you go on, or you die” (this phrase is sometimes quoted as “Go free, or die). The man went on.

Now, it may seem odd to call Harriett Tubman’s threat an act of mercy, but that was precisely what it was. Because the man went on—and achieved freedom, and lived his life. And had she pulled the trigger, there would have been no chance of betrayal, of the backslider turning on her or of revealing the secrets that helped at least 70 slaves to freedom during her documented 19 dangerous trips. But her position of power and her many victories—successful trips—led her to show mercy. She held the pistol, she knew the route, and she chose the course that secured the victory.

Think about the man who said he wanted to return to slavery, for a minute. Does that make any sense? To be so afraid of the uncertainties of opportunity ahead that you prefer the “security” and misery of slavery? This man wanted to run back to the darkness. He wanted to have an overseer run his life. And, for you to be shackled to the opinions of those who hate and despise you is to choose mental slavery over freedom.  So our first National Patriot of the Month, here at Patriot Dream, is Harriett Tubman.

Much known about Harriet Tubman is anecdotal, passed on through oral tradition, or has several variations. But there is no doubt that she was a blazing figure, larger than life and filled with courage and spirit. There is also no doubt that she founded a retirement home, and a couple of decades later, occupied it. Her life improved the lives of others