Page Twenty-Two

Committed to a Cause

She was referred to as “Moses” not only by the hundreds of slaves she helped to freedom but also by the thousands of others she inspired. Because of her commitment to a cause Harriet Tubman became the most famous leader of the Underground Railroad to aid slaves escaping the Free states or Canada.

Born into slavery in Maryland, she escaped her own chains in 1849 to safety in Pennsylvania. A feat accomplished through the Underground Railroad, an elaborate and secret series of houses, tunnels, and roads set up by abolitionists and former slaves. "When I found I had crossed the [Mason-Dixon] line, I looked at my hands to see if I were the same person,” Tubman later wrote. ". . . the sun came like gold through the tree and over the field and I felt like I was in heaven." She would spend the rest of her life helping other slaves escape to freedom.

After her escape, she worked as a maid in Philadelphia and joined the large and active abolitionist group in the city. In 1850, after Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act, making it illegal to help a runaway slave, Tubman decided to join the Underground Railroad.

Her first expedition took place in 1851, when she managed to thread her way through the backwoods to Baltimore and return to the North with her sister and her sister's children. From that time until the onset of the Civil War, she traveled to the South about 18 times and helped close to 300 slaves escape. In 1857, led her parents to freedom in Auburn, New York, and resided there.

Tubman was never caught and never lost a slave to the Southern militia. As her reputation grew, so too did the desire among Southerners to put a stop to her activities. Rewards for her capture once totaled about $40,000, a lot of money in those days. During the Civil War, Tubman served as a nurse, scout, and sometime-spy for the Union army, mainly in South Carolina. She also took part in a military campaign that resulted in the rescue of 756 slaves and destroyed millions of dollars' worth of enemy property.

After the war, Tubman returned to Auburn and continued her involvement in social issues, including the women's rights movement. In 1908, she established a home in Auburn for elderly and indigent blacks that later became known as the Harriet Tubman Home. She died on March 10, 1913, at approximately age of 93.

Tubman’s passionate commitment of love for her people kept her going back until every slave was freed, regardless of the dangers involved.

First of all, let’s get one thing straight: You are smart! I wanted to make sure you know that from the very beginning. When I was growing up, my dad always told me that everyone is born smart—that every child has a special kind of genius. I loved that idea. Even though I didn’t always do well in school, I kind of knew the reason didn’t have to do with me. I wasn’t stupid. I just learned in a different way than the way teachers in school expected me to.

My father taught me to have a good attitude about learning. He taught me to find my best way of learning. If I hadn’t done that, I might have flunked out of high school or college. I probably wouldn’t have been prepared for my financial life. And I wouldn’t have had the confidence to be who I am today.

We all learn differently. The trick is to find the way you learn best. When you do that, you’ll discover your own personal genius.

A genius is someone who excels at something. But a genius isn’t necessarily good at everything. In fact, a genius usually has a special ability in one area while being pretty average in others.

Did you know that Albert Einstein, who thought up the theory of relativity (E=mc²), never did well in school? He wasn’t good at memorizing things, yet he grew up to become one of the greatest mathematical thinkers of all time. His brain focused on ideas rather than facts. Facts, he said, could be found in books, so he never felt the need to keep facts in his head. He wanted his head clear to think creatively.

School asks us to keep facts in our head, but when we’re out of school, we usually just need to know where the facts are kept so we can look them up or know whom to call when we need them!

The way our performance is measured in school has very little to do with how intelligent we really are or how successful we can be. The way we perform in school is usually just a measure of how well we take tests! It’s not a true measure of the genius you were born with.

By Robert Kiyosaki

Author of:

Rich Dad Poor Dad

TODAY STARTS ME!