Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert

The next day, Darnell arrives at the studio with vegan muffins and coffee to find Harriet on the ground. She is unconscious, and the rest of the band tells him that this happens often, a byproduct of the incident she described in which she was hit on the head. Darnell is worried, but everyone explains that she’ll be fine.

He sits down to chat with Moses, feeling closer to everyone now that they’ve seen him weep. He asks about the Underground Railroad, Harriet, and Moses’s own trip to freedom. Harriet came back after she escaped and led him and the rest of his family members north. She couldn’t take everyone at once, so people had to wait their turn. Darnell asks why his enslavers didn’t figure out what was happening, and he posits that white people mostly saw what they wanted to see. They had the preachers to preach obedience and servitude, keeping everyone in line. They were ignoring the fact that, of course, the enslaved wanted freedom.

Moses recalls that the preachers were often instrumental in helping escapees. Many preachers even chose to remain enslaved so that they could help as many people as possible make their way north. When Harriet returned to free people, she would sing “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” quietly in the woods, and the preachers, because they were allowed freedom of movement, would go out to her.

Harriet wakes and surprises Darnell by telling him that he himself needs to be freed. Not understanding, he asks what she means. She explains that she has always been in the business of freeing Black folks, and there is something weighing Darnell down. She doesn’t know what it is, but he is not truly free in his heart, and she aims to help him get to the “promised land.”

Darnell has no idea what Harriet means. She tells him that when she has one of her episodes and loses consciousness, the Lord speaks to her and gives her directions. Her relationship with God is at the root of her abolitionist work, and she tells Darnell about the talks she used to give. He asks if speaking about enslavement was difficult, and she admits that at times it was, but it would have been harder to remain silent. She could not have helped the abolitionist movement or worked on the Underground Railroad if she had remained unwilling to confront her past.

She tells him about other abolitionists, including the fiery John Brown, who was one of the first white people to show her the common courtesy of removing his hat when he met her. This was, Darnell learns, unheard of during the 19th century, even after emancipation. Darnell is shocked by this, and Odessa tells him that he wasn’t born during her day and sometimes “it shows.” He knows that he cannot truly understand the experiences of the enslaved, but from everyone’s stories, he is starting to have a better idea of what life was truly like. He knows that all of the freedoms he now enjoys are because of women like Harriet, and he feels humbled. Darnell is filled with a desire to understand Harriet, Odessa, Moses, Quakes, and Buck even more, and he asks to travel to see where they were born.

After some objection from the group, they head south in a rented van. En route, Darnell asks Harriet more about John Brown. Harriet explains that he died fighting for abolition: He was hanged shortly before the Civil War began. They stop for a night at a motel. Harriet pays for the rooms with bills that bear her likeness. She and Darnell share a room, and she talks more about John Brown and Frederick Douglass. Douglass wasn’t popular with African Americans in part because he spoke like a white man, but Harriet argues that such divisions are harmful—African Americans should all support one another.

She also thinks that it’s problematic the way that the American government convinced under-resourced white people that Black Americans were the enemy: Those in power disenfranchised both Black and working-class white people and maintained their power by pitting the two groups against each other. Darnell is moved by her words and how she speaks them. He feels closer and closer to her and is grateful for it.

The next morning, the group leaves the motel. Nervous, Darnell asks everyone to talk about the war. Buck and Moses laugh so hard that the van shakes, and Darnell is confused. He was expecting anger or unwillingness, not laughter. Buck and Moses explain that they have told these stories so many times that they no longer bother them.

Darnell settles back and listens to the tale of Harriet’s time during the Civil War. She served as a consultant and scout for the Union army, cooked, and worked as a washerwoman. She noted her willingness to help the army’s cause, but also the fact that it was difficult for Black women to get work in the North, let alone those who could not read or write. Darnell learns that Odessa also cannot read and write, but that Buck, Moses, and Quakes can. Harriet seems to indicate that she would have liked the opportunity to learn, but Odessa does not seem to mind. In general, literacy seems less important to the group than other issues.

Darnell also learns that Lincoln was not quite the hero he is portrayed as in history books. Unlike true abolitionists, he did not have the best interests of African Americans at heart. In fact, he floated the idea of sending the formerly enslaved back to Africa or even South America. For Lincoln, the war was about keeping the country together more than it was a humanitarian project to end enslavement. They visit several sites meaningful to Harriet, including Brodess farm, where she was enslaved, and she becomes misty-eyed.

While Harriet has a quiet moment, the others continue to talk about Black history. Darnell reflects on how little Americans are actually taught about Black history and vows to learn more. During a stop, he takes a breather to think about everything he’s learned, and Buck approaches him. They have a quiet exchange during which Darnell asks Buck to refrain from telling Harriet about his criticism of religion, and Buck quietly insinuates that it isn’t his views on Christianity Darnell wants to hide, but his sexuality. In a state of panic, Darnell resolves to leave the group. Harriet stops him by drawing her pistol. She tells him that she knows when someone is preparing to run, and she cannot let him get away without first helping him get free.