The Harriet Tubman Award to Truckers

HARRIET TUBMAN AWARD TO TRUCKERS

I’ve doing some history reading lately, and discovered an event in US history that may sound very familiar in 2025… and there is a connection to Canada.

In 1850, something called the Fugitive Slave Act was passed which penalized police and other officials who did not arrest someone who had allegedly escaped from slavery, even in northern states where slavery was outlawed. Habeas corpus was declared irrelevant. No day in court or jury was permitted and the alleged fugitive from slavery could not testify. The law resulted in the kidnapping and conscription of free Blacks back into slavery, even from free states.

There was one woman who stood out and fought to free slaves and escort them to freedom though the underground railroad. Her name was Harriett Tubman. She risked her life in some 13 missions to rescue approximately 70 enslaved people, including her family and friends,  using the network of antislavery activists and safe houses known collectively as the Underground Railroad. During the American Civil War, she served as an armed scout and spy for the Union Army. In her later years, Harriet Tubman was an activist in the movement for women's suffrage.

So how does this fit in a Truck News Talk Podcast? Well, I happily support all organizations that are active in the front lines in the fight against human trafficking…otherwise known as slavery. One of those we all know well as Truckers Against Trafficking…aka  T.A.T.  TAT!   The people at TAT, in an effort to reward observant and caring truck drivers, have developed something called the Harriett Tubman Award. I think it an award befitting a brave woman who fled abusive slavery and violence to save others from the same fate. My guest is Heather Fry, Director of Industry Training at TATnonprofit.org.