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Home • Black History Month

We Can't Get Over This Newly Discovered Photo Of A Young Harriet Tubman 

This new photograph of Harriet Tubman, which surfaced from an abolitionist album, came right in time for Black History Month.  
We Can't Get Over This Newly Discovered Photo Of A Young Harriet Tubman
Getty Images
By Mariya Moseley · Updated October 26, 2020

During the second week of Black History Month, a new photo of iconic civil rights activist Harriet Tubman has been discovered in the archives. 

As Mic.com reports, the new image was uncovered by a historian who spotted it in a photo album once owned by Tubman’s friend and fellow abolitionist Emily Howland. 

A new picture of #HarrietTubman has been found. She is believed to be between 43-46 in this post-Civil War image. #blackhistorymonth pic.twitter.com/Sz2itXD9ml

— GirlTrek (@GirlTrek) February 7, 2017

Reports also state that the photograph surfaced in Auburn, New York, which is where Tubman lived following the Civil War. Dr. Kate Larson, a historian/author who has done decades of research around the topic, said the photo of Tubman is “authentic.” 

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“There’s no doubt in my mind about the provenance of the photo and that it is Tubman… I had never run across it,” she said.

“What’s remarkable about this photograph is that she’s so proud and dignified and beautiful. She looks so young… This is the vibrant young Tubman just coming off her work during the Civil War. She’s building her life with her family in Auburn,” Larson added.

Tubman will become the new face of the $20 note, the U.S. Treasury Department announced last year. The design of the bill will be unveiled in 2020; however, a release for circulation has not yet been determined.  

Looks like the designers have another photo to choose from to honor the famed abolitionist.