The Head Injury That Changed Tubman’s Life
Before escaping to freedom and leading hundreds of southern slaves north along the Underground Railroad, Harriet Tubman lived for nearly 30 years in slavery. Born Araminta Harriet Ross in 1820 to enslaved parents Ben Ross and Harriet Green, Tubman was one of nine children and grew up on a Maryland plantation.
It was near there that, when she was around 12 years old, she was mercilessly struck in the head with a two-pound lead weight by a slave overseer.
Many scholars suggest that Tubman’s untreated injuries led her to suffer from an acute case of narcolepsy, though from what we know today, a diagnosis of cataplexy—sudden muscle weakness and paralysis—as well as hypersomnia, seem equally likely. With narcolepsy comes vivid dreams and hallucinations, and eyewitness reports substantiate Bradford’s writings that Tubman’s trance-like states would last for hours.
Tubman dealt with a handful of equally debilitating comorbid conditions, including seizures and fierce headaches.
Tubman led dozens of individuals to freedom along the Underground Railroad but also participated in and led major uprisings as well. In 1858 and 1859, she helped abolitionist John Brown plan his raid on Harper’s Ferry, though when the raid took place, Tubman was said to be ill at home.
Rather than a roadblock, Tubman’s head injury may have been the catalyst that caused her to flee slavery and lead others along the route to freedom. Afraid that she was viewed as a sickly person, some scholars note that Tubman fled to the north due to fears she would be sold and separated from her family.
When she begins appearing on the 20-dollar bill in 2030, Tubman will be not only be the first woman or person of color represented on U.S. currency in over a century. She may also be the first to suffer from—and survive—a confounding array of conditions ranging from seizures to sleep disorders that, while at times debilitating and demoralizing, didn’t stop her from marching to freedom and leading countless others to the same.
To access DRCT's resources regarding Traumatic Brain Injuries, please click here: https://www.disrightsct.org/resource-center/#traumatic-brain-injury-tbi
