 I'm Marcia Joyner, and we are navigating the journey. And what a journey this is. We are all the way back to the 1800s, back to the days of Civil War, just before the Civil War, no, right after the Civil War. And we're gonna talk to the curator of the Heret Tubman Museum and Educational Center, Mr. William Jarman. And we will learn a lot about Heret Tubman, about the Eastern Shore of Maryland, and a time and a place that none of you know anything about. And I wanna say that we're doing this because of the movie about Heret Tubman. And it's a good movie, make no mistake about that, but there's so much that we don't know. So, Mr. Jarman, welcome. Yes. Yeah, there you are. Hello. Tell us about Mr. Jarman and the museum. Well, William Jarman was born and raised in Cambridge, Maryland, here on the Eastern Shore, Marvel Peninsula. And it is here in Dorchester County, Maryland. I eventually became an educator and was a school teacher. And then eventually I went into administration and ended my career as a principal. Once retired, I returned from Prince George's County, Maryland, back to Dorchester County and became, let's say an individual who wanted to volunteer his time and continue my services that I knew that I was capable of doing. And so I joined the Heret Tubman Museum and Education Center. And it was here that I eventually found myself being a curator and also one who was speaking on behalf of the legacy of Heret Tubman and also giving God it tours. Well, can we show a short video of Heret Tubman, the beginning of Heret Tubman? We will show this video, please. Heret Tubman was enslaved from the day she was born on a plantation in an area called Peter's Neck on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. One of her first memories was seeing her sisters taken away on a chain gang and lost forever. She never closed her eyes, she said, without imagining that she saw the horsemen coming and heard the screams of families being broken apart. Every time I saw a wife, I was afraid of being carried away. Wow, what a beginning. William, tell us a little bit more about Heret. Tell us a little bit more about Heret after she was taken as a child. Heret Tubman, yeah, she was born here in Dorchester County and she was born on a plantation that was owned by Anthony Thompson. However, her story really begins with her grandmother who was sold from a slave ship here on the Choptank River to a family called the Patacens. And it was here that Heret, we call it Aramentas, mother was born. So prior to Aramenta, there was a mother called Heret and a grandmother called Modesty. And by incidents that occurred, the Aramentas mother was given as a wedding gift to a young lady named Murray Patterson who married a Brodas. And Murray and Mr. Brodas had a son two years later and then he died. And so the mother married Anthony Thompson. And so we have Heret, oh, Ritt, who was basically on the Thompson plantation where she meets old Ben, who is Ben Ross. And Ben Ross and she in 10 years have six children, the last being Aramenta. And it was here that the young man named Mr. Brodas' son, Edward Brodas, had to sue Anthony Thompson who raised him for his inheritance. And from that court case, the Edward Brodas and a slave woman, Heret Ross was taken back to the Brodas farm. And here, Heret's mother has three additional children. And of course, they were all formed out to work for different people. Heret had a rough time because she felt like she was never treated fairly by the mysteries of the house. Heret, she was eventually struck in the head by a two pound weight and was sick for by three months. And because of her attitude and her personality, she was told to go live with her father on the Thompson plantation, leaving her mother and other brother and sister with the Brodas. So Mr. Thompson and Mr. Brodas always had a conflict of interest over the Ross children. Heret eventually married John Tubman and it was this union between a free man and an enslaved woman that brought a lot of tension to the two enslavers and to the enslavees. Heret was never able to convince her husband to run away with her. And then in 1849, she decided to run away after her owner, Edward Brodas, died. This video we're going to see now is a pivotal part in Heret Tubman's life where she is struck in the head and that changes everything about her going forward. Mindy was strong and iron-willed one day at the Bucktown store and Overseer ordered her to stop an enslaved young man from escaping. She refused. The Overseer threw an iron weight. It accidentally hit her instead. That weight struck me in the head and broke my skull. They carried me to the house all bleeding and faint. But I went to work again and I worked with the blood and sweat rolling down my face. That video shows exactly what that moment that as she went through life with that broken head, that she says it allowed her to see in depth. It gave her a different view and she could understand. And that's how gave her that ability to follow the path to freedom and to bring other people with her. So if we can go back to the next video, please. We heard that some of us was going with the chain gang down to the cotton and rice fields and they said, I was going. But Harriet Tubman refused to be sold. One night in the fall of 1849, she stole away from a plantation at Poplar Neck in Caroline County. She raced to freedom by herself. Sometimes on foot and sometimes with the help of a loose network of trustworthy, enslaved and free blacks and fight helpers who hid her and sheltered her as she made her way from station to station on the underground railroad. Wow, what a journey. And we have one more video, I think. Today, you can walk in her footsteps. The Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway retraces the courageous exploits of this small, unassuming and brilliant woman. A woman who survived enslavement, freed herself, then became an underground railroad leader, abolitionist, wartime nurse, spy, soldier, farmer, a businesswoman, and fighter for women's rights. This is where she lived, where she suffered and where she accomplished great things. We can still travel through history with Harriet Tubman, moving always toward freedom. Thank you. The state of Maryland was gracious enough to allow us to use their videos. So we want to shout out to this state of Maryland for being so gracious. And William, now tell us about the museum. The museum was started by a group of ladies who belonged to two of the oldest black churches here in Cambridge, Maryland. And that was a church that we believe the Tubman's attendant, which is called Basil Church, which is in Bucktown. And Bucktown was the community that kept the legacy of Harriet Tubman before the public here in Dorchester County. And after so many years celebrating her birthday. Can you hear me? Yes. I need him to restart because he's sitting forward. He always had to get chopped off. He needs to redo what he just got to say. All right, William, can you hear us? William, can you hear me? I can hear you. William. Okay. Yeah. I can hear you. We need this. Okay, sit forward so we can see you. Sit back. That's good. Yeah. Right there. Okay. Okay. Okay. So tell us about the museum. Start all over again. Tell us about the museum. The museum was started by a group of ladies who attended wall chapel. United Methodist Church and Bethel AME church. And these ladies were related to families. In the Bucktown region. And we often associate Harriet Tubman with Bucktown. And we started working. And it was at this particular church called Basil, that we think the Tubman family attended. And so the community of Bucktown. Continued the legacy of Harriet Tubman. For the local people here in Dorchester County. And so it wasn't too long when a lady from North Carolina. Had decided that she loved Harriet Tubman. To the point that she felt something should be erected in her name in the county. And the first thing that was erected was a land. Or a sonnage. Near on the road is form. And then eventually came what we call the Memorial garden. Harriet Tubman. And they were able to secure a building. They managed to secure a building. And then in the state. What is that? When you're trying to call me on, sorry. And building our race street for 24. And with the legacy of Harriet Tubman. I should tell them to stop and then go back before the phone ring and restart the state and the County. And they stick with the building. Yeah, William. You have to stop and go back before the phone. before the phone call. Start telling us about the lady from North Carolina right there, the lady from North Carolina. The ladies of Belfa AME and Wall Chapel Church started an association or a committee and they were honoring Harriet Tubman in March of Eire. Eventually, they decided to become a 501 C3 and because of that 501 C3, they started getting recognition from the state of Maryland. And it was through the state of Maryland, through the Maryland Park Service and Tourism that they brought life to Harriet Tubman and her legacy here in Dorchester County. I was a student here in Dorchester County and the Rosses and the Tubmans still live here today or the descendants of John Tubman and the descendants of Harriet Ross Tubman. And eventually they received enough funding to purchase the building on Race Street, 424 Race Street and they started educational activities for the young and then for adults. And then eventually they were holding what they call Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Discussion Groups, the fourth Saturday of every month. And the fourth Saturday of every month since I would say 2003 up until 2010 the people would come together from Delaware and especially from Caroline County and Dorchester County and talk about the history behind an underground railroad in Dorchester County and the Eastern Shore. And that man was John Creighton, Kate Clifford Larson, Pat Lewis, Evelyn Townsend and a few other people. And then they started having a banquet every year in honor of Harriet Ross Tubman. And then eventually they asked permission or wrote a letter to the state of Maryland and to the federal government, the Interior Department asking if they would come in and support the organization to come up with a land area that they could call the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad. And that was in 1992. And by 2017, we now have the Underground Railroad Historical National Park, which is today called the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park Visitor Center. So we can give credit to the people who still operate and still own the building Harriet Tubman Museum and Education Center on Race Street here in Cambridge. And due to the fact that we now have a mural on the back of our building, which is Sausage, called Take My Hand, done by Michael Rosado, it has brought more attention than we ever thought we would have. And we do thank the people of Dorchester County, Cambridge, Maryland, for all that they've done to let's say continue the legacy of Harriet Ross Tubman who made her last trip here in 1860, hoping that she would be able to free or help free her sister, her two children and her husband. And that is the history of the organization started by a group of people, as I said before, from Belville and Wall Church, who started in their homes. I hear you. Well, okay. Would you give us the address of the museum so people that are listening and watching can know where you're located? The address is 424 Race R-A-C-E, Street, Cambridge, Maryland, zip code 21613. And the telephone number is 410-228-0401. And we're open Tuesday through Friday, 12 to 3 p.m. And Saturdays, 12 to 4 p.m. So we can come meet you then. Yes, you can. And you can email us at harriottumbmanatverizon.net. Well, William, it's been a pleasure spending this time with you. And we look forward to meeting you in person. And again, thank you for the state of Maryland to providing us with all those beautiful videos. And aloha, and we'll see you next time. And as we've seen in Dorchester County,