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The breathtaking courage of Harriet Tubman - Janell Hobson

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Escaping slavery; risking everything to save her family; leading a military raid; championing the cause of women’s suffrage; these are just a handful of the accomplishments of one of America’s most courageous heroes. Janell Hobson details Harriet Tubman's many fights for freedom.


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TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »

Meet The Creators

  • Educator Janell Hobson
  • Director Yan Dan Wong
  • Script Editor Brendan Pelsue
  • Editor Ying Ying Tey
  • Associate Producer Bethany Cutmore-Scott, Elizabeth Cox
  • Content Producer Gerta Xhelo
  • Editorial Producer Alex Rosenthal
  • Narrator Christina Greer
  • Sound Designer Jarrett Farkas
Additional Resources for you to Explore
Check out the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

To find out about the Harriet Tubman National Park in Auburn, New York, click here.

Read Jamie Stiehm’s “Parallel Lives from the Eastern Shore” to learn about the relationship between Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass.

Click here to journey on National Geographic’s Underground Railroad.

Watch “Minty” from WGN’s Underground, with Aisha Hinds as Harriet Tubman.

Interested in learning more? Check out these biographies, history books, and fiction: 

Sarah H. Bradford’s Scenes in the Life of Harriet Tubman
Catherine Clinton’s Harriet Tubman: The Road to Freedom
Jean M. Humez’s Harriet Tubman: The Life and Life Stories
Kate Clifford Larson’s Bound for the Promised Land: Portrait of an American Hero
Beverly Lowery’s Harriet Tubman: Imagining a Life
Milton Sernett’s Harriet Tubman: Myth, Memory, and History
Manisha Sinh’s The Slave’s Cause: A History of Abolition
Janell Hobson, ed. “Harriet Tubman: A Legacy of Resistance,” Meridians: feminism, race, transnationalism
Ellen Levine’s Henry’s Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad
Ann Petry’s Harriet Tubman: Conductor of the Underground Railroad
Faith Ringgold’s Aunt Harriet’s Underground Railroad in the Sky

Customize this lesson

Create and share a new lesson based on this one.

About TED-Ed Animations

TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »

Meet The Creators

  • Educator Janell Hobson
  • Director Yan Dan Wong
  • Script Editor Brendan Pelsue
  • Editor Ying Ying Tey
  • Associate Producer Bethany Cutmore-Scott, Elizabeth Cox
  • Content Producer Gerta Xhelo
  • Editorial Producer Alex Rosenthal
  • Narrator Christina Greer
  • Sound Designer Jarrett Farkas

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