Taking the Plunge

Harriet – 2019

Give me an AMEN if Harriet Tubman is your new hero. Haven’t seen the movie yet? Get moving. Jump in! Harriet, starring Cynthia Erivo, is a biographical and inspirational jewel with a touch of the mystical. We meet desperate, fierce and ferocious Harriet, who, facing imminent threat of being sold and separated from husband and family, bolts from plantation bondage and embarks on a grueling 100 mile, Maryland to Pennsylvania, flight to freedom. Upon safe arrival in Philadelphia, Harriet refuses to settle for just her own freedom. Called to a mission of liberation, she retraces the 100 miles, leading to freedom all those left behind. Bold, resolute, and unflinching, Harriet becomes a conductor on the Underground Railroad, a leader of the abolitionist movement. Guided by transcendent visions, fueled by prayer, spiritual gifts attributed to God, Harriet claims divine calling and nothing manmade slows our courageous champion from her perilous undertaking.  This film takes us with her, every dangerous, treacherous step of the way. The cinematography is alive and luscious, inserting the viewer directly into the action. Cornered on a narrow bridge, raging river below, slavers with dogs and guns closing in, Harriet is forced into a “freedom or die” choice. As she climbs up the side railings, so do I. As she lingers, weighing the options, so do I. Give up? Jump? Live? Die? What price freedom? We jump.  
Be forewarned that while we run and jump and hide with Harriet, this movie will most certainly send you on a personal journey. For me there were two. The first was a dive into Civil War history. This film will transport you to an era, not so long ago, when, on American soil, humans were enslaved, chained, brutalized and sold as chattel. Harriet Tubman was stirring things up then and is still churning in the middle of controversy. She most recently devolved into a 21st century political scrum over her image replacing Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill, an honor announced by President Obama in 2016, but delayed by President Trump until at least 2028, maybe never. Sadly, the hateful dynamics of the Civil War insidiously rage on, a perpetual Battle Hymn of the Republic/ I Wish I Was in Dixie clash.
We need more Harriets. Harriets who will unleash a courageous flurry of guile and guts, brazen enough to disrupt the oppressor, bold enough to liberate the oppressed. Harriets who refute stereotypes, who refuse physical or psychic chains. In her day, Harriet Tubman traversed hundreds of hostile miles stringing together safe spaces to protect and guide over 70 slaves to freedom. 
I wish for even a speck of her DNA— which leads me on my second film-inspired journey.  I’ve taken two DNA tests and both concur I’m 99% Western European, primarily British Isles. My ancestors immigrated to America and mostly settled in southern states. I’m related to everyone in Arkansas. Really! If you’re from Arkansas, safely assume we’re kin and call me cousin. The harder truth is I’m a descendant of Confederate rebels and southern slaveholders.  I recently donated to the restoration of Nashville’s Gower Family Cemetery in remembrance of my 4th great grandparents, Tennessee pioneers, who are buried there—along with six slaves. My 2nd cousin Sumner Cunningham was the leader of the “Lost Cause,” a cult movement that glorified the Civil War as heroic and just, a clash between two civilizations, the materialistic, inferior North and the generous, honorable South. Sumner’s biography is on Amazon. Or you can borrow it from me. This is my family. These are my roots. It’s a deep dive but Harriet invited me to take the reflective plunge. 
When I left the theater and walked through the shopping mall to the parking structure, I felt different. People laughing, chatting and enjoying lunch in street side alfresco cafes caught my attention. But, it wasn’t the usual faces in a crowd. Instead, each person’s individual face, voice and gestures stood out, like I was seeing slo-mo through a zoom lens. For that moment the world slowed down, the noise disappeared. No one went unnoticed. The clarity indelibly uncanny. Yes, mysterious. Maybe it was my version of a vision. Thankfully, whatever momentarily seized my psyche didn’t cause me to stop and stare, that would be rude, or weird. All I can say for sure is Harriet changed me. Someday I hope to better explain how and why.
That’s why I say get moving and watch Harriet. Let me know where it takes you.

Author: Rev. Peggy Bryan

I was ordained an Episcopal Priest in 2009. View all posts by Rev. Peggy Bryan