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Leading abolitionist Harriet Tubman was born in slavery as Araminta Harriet Ross in Maryland in 1820. Her early life was full of hardship: she endured daily physical violence. In 1844 she married John Tubman, a free black man. She escaped in 1849 but returned many times to help escape enslaved people, including her parents and other family members, leading them into freedom.

In November 2008, a statue was raised in her honor in Harlem, made by artist Alison Saar.