Harriet is based on the story of iconic freedom fighter Harriet Tubman, her escape from slavery and subsequent missions to free dozens of slaves through the Underground Railroad in the face of growing pre-Civil War adversity.
Released November 1, 2019, Harriet filmed in Virginia in fall and winter of 2018, spending time in Richmond, Powhatan, Cumberland, Petersburg, Mathews and several other localities. The project from Focus Features will be the first feature length film to tell the story of famed abolitionist Harriet Tubman, who brought hundreds of slaves to freedom in 19th century America. Released November 1, 2019, Harriet stars Tony-award winning actress Cynthia Erivo, alongside Leslie Odom Jr, Janelle Monae, and Joe Alwyn.
"Following Harriet" is a podcast that takes a closer look at the life of Harriet Tubman, one of the bravest and most extraordinary women in our country's history. Through interviews with leading historians, educators and even the director of the Focus Features film Harriet, it puts the American icon in a broader context and examines the 19th Century experience of African Americans, especially in Virginia.
"Following Harriet" has won the following awards to date:
- #1 History Podcast & #12 overall Top Show on Apple Podcasts
- Silver Award, New York Festivals Radio Awards 2020 – Narrative/Documentary Podcast
- Webby Awards 2020 Honoree – Podcasts: Best Mini Series
- Award of Merit, PRSA Virginia Public Relations Awards 2020 – New Media and Digital Communications
Subscribe to "Following Harriet" wherever you get your podcasts (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, etc.).
Episode 1: Becoming Harriet
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Harriet Tubman was so much more than the short history lesson we got about her in school. She was a wife and mother, an entrepreneur, a soldier, a spy, a nurse and an activist who fought for women’s right to vote. In this episode, we explore the most influential and interesting episodes in her life.
Episode 2: The Enslaved & the Virginia Freedom Seekers
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As we learn more about Harriet Tubman, we also get a better understanding of the broader experience for African Americans in the 19th Century. In this episode, we travel to museums throughout Virginia and to the presidential homes of Thomas Jefferson (Monticello) and James Madison (Montpelier) to hear how those stories are being told today.
Episode 3: Harriet's Legacy Today: Strength, Courage & Triumph
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In this episode, we pull Harriet’s story and the story of the African American experience in 19th Century America right through to the present. We talk about why a movie like Harriet, and how it depicts the way she lived her life, is so important to us as Americans at this time.
Episode 4: (Bonus) Musician Rhiannon Giddens on Harriet
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This bonus episode is a condensed version of our interview with Grammy Award-winning musician, artist and activist Rhiannon Giddens, founding member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops. We talk to her about her song "At the Purchaser's Option," her music and Harriet Tubman.
Underground Railroad Locations in Virginia
Courtesy of the National Park Service
- Alexandria Archaeology Museum (Alexandria)
- Alexandria Freedmen's Cemetery (Alexandria)
- Alexandria Library Special Collections Branch (Alexandria)
- Birch Slave Pen (Alexandria)
- Bruin's Slave Jail (Alexandria)
- Freedmen's Aid Workers Site (Alexandria)
- Gadsby's Tavern Museum (Alexandria)
- Brentsville Courthouse and Jail (Bristow)
- Sully Historic Site (Chantilly)
- Fairfax Circuit Court-Historical Records Room (Fairfax)
- Moncure Conway House (Falmouth)
- Fort Monroe: Freedom Fortress (NPS, Fort Monroe National Monument) (Fort Monroe)
- Buckland Farm (Gainesville)
- Conn's Ferry (Great Falls)
- Evergreen (Haymarket)
- Appomatox Plantation (NPS, Petersburg National Battlefield)
- Loudoun County Courthouse (Leesburg)
- Oatlands Plantation (Leesburg)
- Thomas Balch Library (Leesburg)
- Arlington House, Robert E. Lee Memorial (NPS, George Wahington Memorial Parkway) (McLean)
- James A. Fields House (Newport News)
- Downtown Norfolk Waterfront (Norfolk)
- Leonard Black, Rev., Burial Site (Petersburg)
- Petersburg Court House (Petersburg)
- African Methodist Society (Emanuel AME) (Portsmouth)
- African Americans: From Slavery to Emancipation (Richmond)
- Library of Virginia (Richmond)
- Virginia Museum of History and Culture (Richmond)
- Spotsylvania County Courthouse Jail (Spotsylvania)
- Aquia Landing (Stafford)
- Great Dismal Swamp National WIldlife Refuge (Suffolk)
- UGRR Experience: Moses Grandy, Charles Grandy and the Road to Freedom (Suffolk)
- Tangier Island (Tangier)
- Afro-American Historical Association of Fauquier County (The Plains)
- The Old Jail (Fauquier History Museum) (Warrenton)
- Kitty Payne Site, Rappahannock County Jail (Washington)
- Rappahanock County Jail (Washington)
- Melrose Farm (Waterford)
- Rippon Lodge (Woodbridge)
- Leesylvania (Woodbridge)
- Theodore Roosevelt Island (Rosslyn<)/li>
Education and Resources
- Harriet Tubman Timeline
- Ducksters Education Site - Harriet Tubman Biography
- PBS - Harriet Tubman | Abolition Activist
- Virginia Repertory Theatre Study Guide to Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad play
- Encyclopedia Virginia