• Cibeles Jolivette Gonzalez
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  • Added 09 Sep 2009
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Harriet Tubman:

Harriet Tubman (1797-1883) was a remarkable woman.Unlike Frederic Douglass she was neither highly educated nor spoke with flowing eloquence, but yet she was an excellent speaker with a sharp wit. After fleeing north to escape slavery, she returned many times to the South to help other slaves escape. This earned her the nickname of "Moses". She spoke out against slavery and also for women's rights (which should not be confused with feminism). This painting in acrylic was inspired by an 1852 speech that Harriet gave at a woman's rights meeting.The chain that extends from the slave's arm is made from aluminum foil, but in the image the shine is not as noticeable as when you see the work in person. As I am a history buff, I use art to try to make history come alive. The following is an excerpt from Harriet's "Ain't I A Woman" speech:


Sojourner pointed to one of the ministers. "That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody helps me any best place. And ain't I a woman?"

Sojourner raised herself to her full height. "Look at me! Look at my arm." She bared her right arm and flexed her powerful muscles. "I have plowed, I have planted and I have gathered into barns. And no man could head me. And ain't I a woman?"

"I could work as much, and eat as much as man - when I could get it - and bear the lash as well! And ain't I a woman? I have borne children and seen most of them sold into slavery, and when I cried out with a mother's grief, none but Jesus heard me. And ain't I a woman?"

The women in the audience began to cheer wildly.

She pointed to another minister. "He talks about this thing in the head. What's that they call it?"

"Intellect," whispered a woman nearby.

"That's it, honey. What's intellect got to do with women's rights or black folks' rights? If my cup won't hold but a pint and yours holds a quart, wouldn't you be mean not to let me have my little half-measure full?"

"That little man in black there! He says women can't have as much rights as men. ‘Cause Christ wasn't a woman. She stood with outstretched arms and eyes of fire. "Where did your Christ come from?"

"Where did your Christ come from?", she thundered again. "From G-D and a Woman! Man had nothing to do with him!"

The entire church now roared with deafening applause.

"If the first woman G-D ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these women together ought to be able to turn it back and get it right-side up again. And now that they are asking to do it the men better let them."

3 Comments

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Sharon Gonzalez 10 Sep 2009

BOTH VERY WONDERFUL, CIBELES. THANK YOU SO MUCH.

Artist Reply: Thank you very much! I enjoy doing themes that are not too often seen in art.

jerry carlin 09 Sep 2009

Wonderful history lesson! and nice art to go with it!

Artist Reply: Thank you very much! I am very fond of history so I like to do a lot of historical works.

Maria Anna Machado 09 Sep 2009

FANTASTIC..PICTURE AND WORDS...BEAUTIFUL...

Artist Reply: Thank you very much! I just wish that the aluminum foil chain would have shined a bit more when I made a copy of this work. When I hold it in my hands it really shines, but I just could not capture that shine in the print copy.