Some Black TikTokers have claimed that Harriet Tubman wasn’t a real person. As reported by The Root, a content creator named Ce Chronicles alleged in a since-deleted video that famed abolitionist Tubman was actually a U.S. government spy called Araminta Ross.
The TikToker also claimed that abolitionist Sojourner Truth was also a spy and that her name was also fake.
“They want us to look up and idolize these people, oh well, they look like just like me so I must look up to them.’ Stop that sh*t immediately,” she said.
Interestingly, other Black social media users threw their weight behind her, with some even questioning the truth about the Underground Railroad.
“Hear me out, that shit does not make sense. Why would you be taking slaves underground in tunnel,” one user questioned in a video.
“Harriet Tubman wasn’t even her name. I keep telling y’all America is a stage. These people are playing characters. Everybody for some odd reason has to change their name,” another added.
READ ALSO: Seven myths about Harriet Tubman you should know
But here are the facts, per historians. Even though it is true that Tubman’s birth name wasn’t “Harriet Tubman”, she was indeed a real person. Born Minty (Araminta) Ross in 1822 to a family of slaves, Tubman was a key figure of the Underground Railroad, a large movement in North America consisting of several individuals who worked together to aid slaves in their escape from their captors.
Tubman and her two brothers escaped from slavery after the death of their owner in 1849. After one of her brothers had second thoughts about their escape and returned, Tubman joined them. She, however, escaped again, this time using the secret network of the Underground Railroad. Tubman traveled by the light of the North Star, using night-time cover to avoid those who hunted her.
A large portion of Tubman’s family was enslaved in Maryland. She worked to free them with the help of some abolitionists in the region in 1850. She then went on several other journeys to help free slaves escape north and onward to Canada, which had also abolished slavery. Word of Tubman’s daring exploits began to spread, gaining her the nickname “Moses” from abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison who compared her to the Hebrew prophet of the Bible.
Genealogist and historian Walt Way shared historical records and newspaper clippings to prove to Ce Chronicles and others that Tubman existed.
“To keep it a bean with y’all, the fact that we have to defend Harriet Tubman’s existence in 2025…not only do we have access to letters she wrote, but also letters between other abolitionists that mentioned her,” he said.
“Y’all seriously think a whole country wrote about a fictional character for decades?” he added.
Ce Chronicles later reacted to the comments, stating: “Honestly as a Black American I should have been more responsible with what the f–k I said.”
Though the exact number of times Tubman returned South, guiding slaves to freedom as a “Conductor” along the Underground Railroad is conflicting, what history does agree on is that for eight years, she was an instrumental proponent of hope and freedom for the enslaved. Tubman passed away on March 10, 1913.
