Tubman Biographer Catherine Clinton Speaks July 7

SALISBURY, MD---The Edward H. Nabb Research Center for Delmarva History and Culture at Salisbury University, and Wicomico County Public Schools celebrate one of the Eastern Shore's and America's most famous women, Harriet Tubman, 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 7, in the Wicomico Room of the Guerrieri University Center. Author Catherine Clinton speaks on her book Harriet Tubman: The Road to Freedom, which chronicles the life of the Bucktown, MD, native who became not just the only woman, but the only African-American to serve as a conductor on the Underground Railroad. Raised in Dorchester County, MD, in the 1820s, Tubman was in her early 20s when she struck out alone for freedom in Philadelphia. However, she soon returned to the Eastern Shore to save family members, and others slated for the auction block. Time and time again, Tubman  risked security in the North to go back into the South to lead others to freedom, becoming one of the most infamous enemies of slaveholders in the decade before the Civil War. During the war, she gained fame on the battlefield as the only woman to officially lead men into battle as a scout and spy with the Union Army in South Carolina. An acclaimed historian of the antebellum and Civil War eras, Clinton is the first author to pen a major biography about Tubman. "To the task of illuminating the 'difficult to document' life of the woman known as 'Moses,' Clinton brings her deep immersion in Southern history, women's history and African-American history," says Publishers Weekly. David Herbert Donald, Charles Warren Professor of American History Emeritus at Harvard University, lauds, "Clinton has restored this indomitable woman to her rightful place as one of the true heroes…." With an undergraduate degree in African-American studies from Harvard and a Ph.D. in history from Princeton, Clinton has authored more than 15 books. She has taught at Harvard, Brandeis and Brown universities among others. Her lecture is free and the public is invited. For more information call 410-543-6312 or visit the SU Web site at www.salisbury.edu.