Media Contact: Tarshel Beards, tbeards@oaklandlibrary.org
Oakland CA, -- April 24, 2025
Historian Edda Fields-Black, Ph.D. to speak at the African American Museum and Library at Oakland (AAMLO) about her new book “Combee: Harriet Tubman, The Combahee River Raid, and Black Freedom during the Civil War”
The African American Museum and Library at Oakland (AAMLO) will host an author talk with historian Edda Fields-Black, Ph.D. about her new book “Combee: Harriet Tubman, the Combahee River Raid, and Black Freedom during the Civil War,” Friday May 2, 2025, 3:00 p.m. -5:00 p.m.
The book details the story of the Combahee River Raid, one of Harriet Tubman's most extraordinary accomplishments, based on original documents and written by a descendant of one of the participants.
Tubman is one of the most pivotal figures in nineteenth century African American history. Known for escaping enslavement to become a legendary conductor on the Underground Railroad that led many others out of bondage, she also returned to the South to gather intelligence for the United States Army and led a raid on the Combahee River. The raid on June 2, 1863, liberated more than 700 Gullah-Geechee men, women, and children.
Fields-Black, will discuss how she used previously unexamined documents to bring to life this virtually unknown facet of Tubman’s life. Also, the author highlights the obscured heroism of men like her great-great-great-grandfather who fought in the raid alongside Tubman. Finally, Fields-Black will discuss how after the civil war, many of the liberated persons returned to plantations, purchased land, and built families that over the descending generations continued the dynamic life of the Gullah-Geechee people.
For more information about the event: https://oaklandlibrary.bibliocommons.com/events/68093b5d2971a34a2511a85c
About African American Museum and Library at Oakland
The mission of the African American Museum and Library at Oakland (AAMLO) is to discover, preserve, interpret, and share the historical and cultural experiences of African Americans in Northern California for present and future generations. A multifaceted institution, AAMLO is simultaneously a museum, an archive, a non-circulating library, and a seed lending library. https://oaklandlibrary.org/aamlo