BLACK FEMINISM AND HARRIET TUBMAN
1
Most people are familiar with Harriet Tubman as historian John Hope Franklin portrays
her—the aggressive hero of American abolitionist movement and the most eminent conductor of
the Underground Railroad. Nevertheless, Harriet Rose Tubman’s character stands out among all
the greatest fighters of black liberty as an epitome of black feminism. And this very aspect of
Harriet, the 2019 movie directed by Kasi Lemmons, bags the critics’ appraisals and viewers
adoration for Cynthia Erivo, who played Harriet in the movie. The contention of the present
analysis strongly argues that Harriet is undoubtedly a celebration of feminine power, and this is
what discerns the movie from several other biopics and fictions dealing with the issue of slavery
and freedom of colored people. Therefore, the essay analyzes the instrumental aspects of the
movie that makes the film a significant portrayal of Harriet Tubman. To this end, the essay
hypothesizes that Kasi Lemmons portrays Harriet's version of femininity as her crucial strength
by effectively posing her as the antithesis to the female stereotype of that time.
In her directorial ventures, Kasi Lemmons, who earlier directed films like Black Nativity
and Eve’s Bayou, deals with themes of black culture and societal conflicts strong handedly. Even
in Harriet, Lemmons paints the portrait of the heroic black suffragette with bold strokes of
extravagance, historic accuracy and sensitivity. Tubman herself fled from slavery, also rescued
more than 70 of her family members and friends and led them to Canada. She was the most
successful conductor of Underground Railroad, as well as the first ever black woman to lead a
military expedition consisting both black and white army against the southern conservatives.
However, the contemporary portrayal of enslaved black women traditionally depicted them as
the victims of oppression, physical and sexual abuse, and in dire need to be rescued.
Nevertheless, Erivo’s portrayal is a stark digression from such traditional depiction. In this case,
Harriet is the hero herself, rescuing other enslaved people with her valiance, intelligence and

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