HARRIET TUBMAN WAS DISABLED
MARLENA CHERTOCK
When she was 12, Harriet Tubman jumped
in front of another slave when her master
threw a 2-pound iron weight. The blow
gave her a traumatic head injury.
For the rest of her life she experienced
dizziness, crushing headaches.
She led hundreds of slaves to freedom
with sleeping spells and a heaviness
in her head that felt like endless
2-pound weights swinging from her ears.
Sought out the North Star for guidance
even when she couldn’t tell dirt from sky.
These are things you don’t learn
when reading the history books.
No one dares to call Harriet Tubman
a disabled person. But why not
the full truth? A disabled woman of color
led hundreds of slaves to freedom.
Even when she needed brain surgery,
she refused anesthesia. Bit on a bullet instead.
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