She Came to Slay: The Life and Times of Harriet Tubman

 Dunbar, Erica Armstrong. She Came to Slay: The Life and Times of Harriet Tubman. 2019. 157p. ISBN 978-1-982139-59-9. Available at B TUB on the library shelves.

Born into slavery in Maryland, Araminta Ross, who later took the name of Harriet Tubman, lived a hard life. Her mother's slave master had willed her and her family to be free upon reaching 45 years old, but his death and subsequent move meant that his descendants chose to ignore his request. As a result, the family continued to toil away. Atypical of most slave arrangements at the time, Araminta's mother and father managed to stay together, though some of their children were sold as they became of age.

Sent in the master's house at a young age, Araminta was not very good at housekeeping. Transferred to the field, her short stature soon developed muscles that belied her height. Despite the hard work, Araminta loved being outdoors in nature, a love that would serve her well when she finally escaped and arrived in Philadelphia, a free state. 

Araminta took on her grandmother's name, Harriet, and, despite her fears, she returned time and again to the Eastern Shore in Maryland to rescue and free family members, friends, and perfect strangers. She made contacts with leaders of the abolitionist movement, and raised much needed funds for her endeavors. Her personal life continued to be very hard, however, as she had to support not only herself but her older parents as well as many member of her freed family. Nevertheless, Harriet continued to rescue people from the South.

With the start of the Civil War, Harriet sought to get involved again. Able to gain the trust of former slaves and understanding southern mentalities, she was recruited and sent as a spy in South Carolina. First used as a cleaning lady at camp, she soon displayed her leadership skills and conducted several raids against the Confederacy. Despite the price on her head, she continued to serve as a nurse, spy, and camp lady for years, before poor health forced her to return home.

In the later stages of her life, Harriet continued to advocate for African Americans. She founded a home for old people, held the government accountable to provide military benefits for herself and for African-Americans who served in the armed forces, and joined the women's suffrage movement. 

Harriet Tubman had a disproportionate impact on the history of the United States. She stood for courage in the face of oppression, and never relented despite the threats to herself and her family. A true American icon, Harriet Tubman continues to be an inspiration for the oppressed and the poor.

Kindred

 Butler, Octavia. Kindred. 2004 (first published 1979). 287p. ISBN 9780807083697. Available at FIC BUT on the library shelves.

It is June 1976, and the United States is about to turn 200 years old. Dana, an African-American writer, has just moved in a new house in Los Angeles with her husband, Kevin, who is also a writer. Kevin is White, but in Southern California a mixed couple does not even raise an eyebrow. While moving books on a bookshelf, Dana suddenly feels very dizzy, and she passes out. She comes to on the side of a river, where a red-headed boy is struggling in the water, his mother yelling on the shore. 

Without thinking, Dana jumps in the river and saves the young boy. Instead of being grateful, the young boy's mother is very upset at Dana, and she tells her to get away from Rufus, her son. Her husband soon arrives with a shotgun, and threatens Dana. She faints again, and wakes up with Kevin holding her. Even though she was gone for about an hour, it has only been a few seconds since she collapsed. If she wasn't wet, Dana would have assumed she had dreamed this whole sequence.

Dana takes a shower and changes clothes, only to become dizzy again and passes out. She finds herself in a house, where the same boy as before, but now a few years older, has lit a curtain on fire. She manages to put the fire out. In a conversation with Rufus, she realizes she has traveled back to 1815 in rural Maryland, and finds herself in the room of the plantation owner's son. Being African-American, she is presumed to be a runaway slave, so Rufus directs her to the house of a free woman, where she meets Alice Greenwood. Remembering an inscription in her family bible, which has been handed down over many generations, Dana suddenly realizes that both Alice and Rufus are her ancestors. Threatened with rape, Dana faints and wakes up back in Los Angeles, where only a few minutes have gone by.

Over the next two weeks, Dana travels back to Rufus and the plantation several times. Every time the boy's life is threatened, Dana finds herself pulled in, and every time her own life is threatened, she finds herself pulled out. She learns to live on the plantation and the desperation and dangers that slaves faced. Can Dana survive this ordeal long enough to navigate the webs of violence and ensure that her family survives?

A great science-fiction story that incorporates a history many readers are not familiar with, Kindred provides the perspective of someone who comes from the future and who is being forced into the role of a slave. Fans of historical novels will not be distracted by the time-traveling aspect and will appreciate Dana's struggle to reconcile modern ideas of race relations with her ancestors' bigotry and cleaved social norms.