Harriet Tubman descendant to National Park Service: ‘Stop deleting history you don’t like’
"I cried, actually – then the next thing I know I'm getting calls from radio stations and television stations to give my input," Rita Daniels told News 12.
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Rita Daniels, of Georgia, says she's still in shock after the National Park Service this week removed an image of Harriet Tubman – her great, great, great aunt – from its Underground Railroad webpage, along with a quote from the famed abolitionist leader.
"I cried, actually – then the next thing I know I'm getting calls from radio stations and television stations to give my input," Daniels told News 12. "Leave my aunt alone and stop deleting history you don't like."
Daniels – who recently co-authored a biography about Tubman called "Harriet Tubman: Military Scout and Tenacious Visionary" – has ties to Connecticut, where her manager, Wayne Winston, of Trumbull, has been speaking out in protest.
"When I first saw it, I was like, they've got to be kidding. This is crazy. And it makes me want to shake this administration and say, what are you thinking? What are you trying to do to Black people in this country," Winston said.
In the wake of a national outcry, the NPS restored the image and quote.
"But they also changed the language on the webpage to eliminate references to slavery. It all sends a very bad message," Winston said. "This is not democracy. This is the outrageous behavior of an autocrat."
Tubman thanked those who protested the changes and motivated the NPS to restore much of the original content.
The National Park Service responded to other news outlets with this statement: “The National Park Service recognizes Harriet Tubman as the Underground Railroad’s best known conductor and we celebrate her as a deeply spiritual woman who lived her ideals and dedicated her life to freedom."
