Harriet Tubman (Photo Courtesy of www.nps.gov/)
ANNAPOLIS, MD (December 19, 2014) — Governor Martin O’Malley today issued a statement on the signing of legislation by President Barack Obama that honors the contributions and preserves the legacy of Harriet Tubman. A Maryland native and one of the Underground Railroad’s most famous conductors, Harriet Tubman made historic advancements in human rights:
“We are grateful for the bipartisan support for legislation that authorizes both the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park in Maryland and the Harriet Tubman National Historical Park in New York. Maryland is woven into Tubman’s life tapestry. She was born on the Eastern Shore and this project will provide a window into what it was like when she was here. She used these waterways. She walked these fields and these woods.
“It has been our goal, along with our counterparts in New York, to ensure that the life and legacy of Harriet Tubman are honored in both states. Collectively, the parks reflect her true and complete journey from enslaved to free and from freedom seeker to humanitarian.”
Under the O’Malley-Brown Administration, Maryland showed its support for the project by establishing the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway driving tour on the Eastern Shore. The Administration secured more than $20 million in state and federal funds for the construction of the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park and Visitor Center, which is currently under construction in Dorchester County and slated to open in 2016.