The breathtaking courage of Harriet Tubman - Janell Hobson

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Helen Chang

Escaping slavery;

逃離奴役；

risking everything to save her family;

賭上一切只為了拯救她的家人；

leading a military raid;

領導一項軍事突擊行動；

championing the cause of women’s suffrage;

為了女性投票權的理想而戰；

these are just a handful of the accomplishments

這些只是美國最勇敢的英雄之一

of one of America’s most courageous heroes.

所達成的成就當中的一小部分。

Harriet Tubman was born Araminta Ross in Dorchester County, Maryland,

哈莉特塔布曼本名艾拉明塔羅斯， 於 1820 年左右出生在

in the early 1820s.

馬里蘭州多徹斯特郡，

Born into chattel slavery, Araminta, or Minty, was the fifth of nine children.

艾拉明塔，小名「明蒂」，是九個 孩子中的老五，出生就是財產奴。

Two of Minty’s older sisters were sold to a chain gang.

明蒂的兩個姐姐被賣給了 用鏈子拴成串的囚犯隊伍。

Even as a small child,

還很小的時候，

Minty was hired out to different owners,

明蒂就被不同的主人租用，

who subjected her to whippings and punishment.

經常受到鞭打和懲罰。

Young Minty’s life changed forever on an errand to a neighborhood store.

一趟到鄰坊商店的差事， 永遠改變了小明蒂的人生。

There, an overseer threw a two-pound weight at a fugitive enslaved person,

在那裡，工頭把重達 兩磅的東西丟向一個逃奴，

missed, and struck Minty instead.

他沒丟中，反而擊中了明蒂。

Her injury caused her to experience sleeping spells,

她的傷讓她開始經歷睡眠魔咒，

which we know of today as narcolepsy,

就是現今我們所謂的猝睡症，

for the rest of her life.

她一生都帶著這種病。

Minty’s owner tried to sell her,

明蒂的主人試著把她賣掉，

but there were no buyers for an enslaved person who fell into sleeping spells.

但沒有買主想要買 一個會中睡眠魔咒的奴隸。

She was instead put to work with her father, Ben Ross,

於是，她被送去和她的父親 班羅斯一起工作，

who taught her how to lumber.

班教導她如何伐木。

Lumbering increased Minty’s physical strength

伐木讓明蒂的體力變得更好，

and put her in touch with free black sailors who shipped the wood to the North.

也讓她能夠接觸到將木材 送到北方的自由身黑人船員。

From them, Minty learned about the secret communications

從那些船員身上，明蒂學到了

在貿易路線過程中 會用到的秘密溝通，

that occurred along trade routes,

information that would prove invaluable later in her life.

在她人生後期證實了 這些資訊是無價的。

In this mixed atmosphere of free and enslaved blacks working side by side,

在這自由身與被奴役的黑人 肩並肩一同工作的混雜氣氛中，

Minty met John Tubman, a free black man she married in 1844.

明蒂遇到了一位自由身的黑人 約翰塔布曼，在 1844 年嫁給他。

After marriage, she renamed herself Harriet, after her mother.

婚後，她改名為哈莉特， 這是她母親的名字。

Harriet Tubman’s owner died in 1849.

哈莉特塔布曼的主人 在 1849 年過世。

When his widow planned to sell off her enslaved human beings,

當他的寡婦打算要賣掉她的黑奴時，

Harriet feared she would be sold away from everyone she loved.

哈莉特害怕自己會被賣到遠方， 離開所有她愛的人。

She had heard of an “underground railroad,"

她曾經聽過有一條「地下鐵路」，

a secret network of safe houses,

是個秘密網路，連結了安全藏身處、

boat captains,

船隻的船長，

and wagon drivers

以及馬車駕駛，

willing to harbor fugitive enslaved people on their way north.

他們願意提供庇護給逃奴， 幫助逃奴逃向北方。

So Tubman fled with two of her brothers, Ben and Harry.

所以，哈莉特和她的兩位兄弟， 班和哈瑞，一起逃走。

They eventually turned back, fearing they were lost.

後來他們因為害怕會迷路而折返。

But in one of her sleeping spells,

但在其中一次睡眠魔咒中，

Harriet dreamed that she could fly like a bird.

哈莉特夢見自己能像鳥兒一樣飛翔。

Looking down below, she saw the path to liberation.

向下看時，她看到了通往自由之路。

And in the autumn of 1849, she set out on her own,

在 1849 年秋天，她隻身出發，

following the North Star to Pennsylvania, and to freedom.

靠著北極星的指引 到達了賓州，獲得自由。

Tubman returned to the South 13 times to free her niece,

塔布曼共十三次返回南方， 去解放她的姪女、

brothers,

兄弟、父母，

parents,

and many others.

和許多其他人。

She earned the nickname Black Moses

她得到了「黑摩西」這個暱稱，

and worked diligently with fellow abolitionists

非常勤奮地和廢除主義者合作，

to help enslaved people escape,

協助被奴役的人逃脫，

first to the North, and later to Canada.

先逃到北方，之後再到加拿大。

Harriet Tubman worked as a Union army nurse,

哈莉特塔布曼在內戰期間擔任

scout,

聯邦軍隊護士、偵察兵和間諜。

and spy during the Civil War.

In 1863, she became the first woman in United States history

1863 年，她成為美國史上第一個

to plan and lead a military raid,

規劃並領導軍事突擊行動的女性，

liberating nearly 700 enslaved persons in South Carolina.

解放了南卡羅萊納 近七百名被奴役的人。

After the war, the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

戰後，美國憲法第十三條修正案

legally abolished slavery,

依法廢除了奴隸制度，

while the 14th expanded citizenship

第十四條擴展了公民權，

and the 15th gave voting rights to formerly enslaved black men.

第十五條則將投票權賦予 先前被奴役的黑人。

But she was undaunted, and she persisted.

但她不屈不撓，堅持到底。

She raised funds for formerly enslaved persons

她為先前被奴役的人募集資金，

and helped build schools and a hospital on their behalf.

為了他們，協助建立學校和醫院。

In 1888, Tubman became more active in the fight for women’s right to vote.

1888 年，塔布曼活躍於 為女性爭取投票權的抗爭。

In 1896, she appeared at the founding convention

1896 年，她現身在華盛頓特區

of the National Association of Colored Women in Washington D.C.

黑人女性全國聯盟的募資大會上，

and later at a woman’s suffrage meeting in Rochester, New York.

之後又出席紐約羅徹斯特的 女性投票會議。

There she told the audience:

在那裡，她告訴觀眾：

“I was a conductor on the Underground Railroad,

「我是地下鐵路的車掌，

and I can say what many others cannot.

我可以說許多人不能說的話。

I never ran my train off the track, and I never lost a passenger.”

我從來沒有讓我的火車脫軌， 我從來沒有失去任何一個乘客。」

As her fame grew,

隨著她的名氣高漲，

various friends and allies helped her in the fight

許多朋友和盟友協助她抗爭，

to collect a veteran’s pension for her service in the Union Army.

取得她在聯邦軍服務 應得的退伍軍人退休金。

In 1899, she was finally granted $20 a month.

1899 年，她終於獲准 每月可領 $20。

In a fitting twist of fate,

命運真的很奇妙，

the United States Treasury announced in 2016

2016 年，美國財政部宣佈

that Tubman’s image will appear on a redesigned twenty dollar bill.

在重新設計的 $20 紙鈔上 要用塔布曼的肖像。

Harriet Tubman died on March 10, 1913.

哈莉特塔布曼於 1913 年 3 月 10 日過世。

Even on her deathbed at age 91,

享年 91 歲， 過世之前躺在床上時，

she kept the freedom of her people in mind.

她都還想著要解放她的人民。

Her final words were:

她的遺言是：

"I go away to prepare a place for you.”

「我要離開了， 去為你們準備一個地方。」