If you follow me on social media you will notice that my favorite hashtag is #determineddreamer. I use it on 95% of my posts because I am constantly doing small things to move forward. I realized that my posts don’t even scratch the surface of Harriet Tubman’s dream or legacy; however, now I have something to strive towards.

I highly recommend everyone goes to see this movie; I promise you will not regret it!

This song almost brought me to tears at the end of the movie:

That’s when I’m gonna stand up
Take my people with me
Together we are going
To a brand new home
Far across the river
Can you hear freedom calling?
Calling me to answer
Gonna keep on keepin’ on
I can feel it in my bones

Stand Up, Cynthia Erivo

I have since updated the manual transcription, but it was a perfect ending to an amazingly inspiring movie.

**A few minor spoilers below**

On Saturday, October 19, 2019, I attended a prescreening and panel discussion for Harriet starting Cynthia Erivo. When I say the movie was phenomenal, I mean it. I knew Harriet Tubman died of old age, but I was still on the edge of my seat. I prepared for the negative emotions that typically arise from slave movies but I was utterly inspired by this one.

The story of Harriet Tubman is widely known but often underrated. Her story is one of faith and purpose and should be a lesson to us all.

Always the student, I had a notebook during the movie and jotted down a few things:

Sometimes God only calls you

The movie portrayed her husband as a selfless man that wanted to go with her, but history determined that was a lie. Harriet married a free man that could pass as white; however, he was content with his life and too afraid to risk his freedom for hers.

You can’t make anyone come with you

Her husband and sister had the opportunity to go but were too afraid to leave. Rachel, her sister, said everyone isn’t meant to run, and I felt that! Harriet had one path and Rachel had another. If Rachel had left, Harriet probably wouldn’t have gone back when she did (but I won’t spoil anything for you here).

God don’t mean people to own people

I can’t just ignore the ugly truth about the movie being based on slavery. I was hesitant at first because I was thinking about Django Unchained. All of my takeaways were related to how many times they used the word nigger and the gore. This is why representation matters. Kasi Lemmons took a different direction with this movie. Instead of glorifying the violence and brutality, she chose to present the reality with tact and without overshadowing the courage of Harriet.

In a scene towards the end of the movie, Harriet has the opportunity to kill her former master. She instead wounds him, tells him God don’t mean people to own people, and steals his horse. She was willing to risk her life knowing she couldn’t be free while so many others were still enslaved. Although Dr. Martin Luther King is quoted as saying, No one is free until we are all free, we can see that sentiment in Harriet Tubman as well.

I was glad to have the opportunity to participate in this event. The movie was phenomenal and I left inspired to be true to myself and my calling. I look forward to hearing your thoughts once you see it! If you still aren’t convinced that you need to see this movie, check out the trailer.

We need to tackle the Prison Industrial Complex in order to say we are all free.

The movie got me thinking about how the government continues to enslave people without minding minor details such as actual guilt. *sarcasm*
Ava Duvernay painstakingly submitted her documentaries, 13th and When They See US, as evidence. I had to stop watching so many dramas because they hot too close to home. An episode of 9-1-1 on FOX dealt with the treatment of black people by cops (aka slave catchers). After being pulled over and having guns drawn on his family, one man had to have “The Talk” with his 10-year-old son while navigating his own trauma.

It brings me great sadness that we still need to have talks with our loved ones and teach them how to suck up to officers so they don’t kill us. And then let them know that sometimes, that doesn’t even work. I have two young nephews. I don’t want this world for them. We can do better.

For my readers and dreamers:

What dreams do you have for the world we live in?

What are race relations like where you are from?

When is a good time to talk to children about race?