Hidden cameras. Secret messages. Spies. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has some of that. But it also has an important job. That U.S. government group collects info and keeps the country safe. Last month, the CIA honored a famous spy. Officials unveiled a statue of Harriet Tubman!
Harriet Tubman was born enslaved in the 1820s. At the time, many Black people were forced to work without pay. This was called slavery.
Tubman fought for freedom. She escaped from slavery. And she helped others do the same. Tubman was one of the of the Underground Railroad. That was a secret network of places and people. The Underground Railroad helped people escape from slavery. It may have saved 100,000 people. Tubman likely rescued more than 300 people!
Tubman was more than an , however. She also served as a nurse. She helped the northern Union army during the Civil War (1861-1865). Many Southern states fought to keep slavery legal during that conflict. Tubman was a spy. She gathered key info for the Union army. Tubman spies. She scouted waterways.
Tubman was the first woman to lead a U.S. Army . Tubman guided the Combahee River Raid in South Carolina. Tubman had learned where Confederate torpedoes were along the Combahee River. This info helped Union soldiers steer their boats away from danger. The troops raided Confederate areas. They freed enslaved people along the way.
Now, Tubman’s new bronze statue stands tall. It’s at the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. The statue shows Tubman holding a lantern. It’s as if she is lighting the path to freedom.
Updated October 7, 2022, 5:01 P.M. (ET)
By Alexa Tirapelli
