For two and a half hours Thursday night, the congregation of the AME Zion Church in Auburn celebrated the life and achievements of Underground Railroad leader Harriet Tubman with scripture, prayer, music and pre-recorded segments.
The memorial service was the official kickoff of Auburn’s Tubman bicentennial celebration. Tubman was born in 1822 in Dorchester County, Maryland and died in Auburn on March 10, 1913. After serving in the Civil War, leading a raid that freed over 700 slaves, she retired to property she had purchased from William Seward in Auburn. Among the pre-recorded tributes was Tubman descendant Michelle Jones Galvin talking about the woman she knew as Aunt Harriet.
Events will take place in Auburn throughout the year, coordinated by the Equal Rights Heritage Center.
