It's the Brian Laird Show on WNYC. Good morning again, everyone.

And now we'll celebrate this Juneteenth, 159 years after 250,000 or so enslaved black people in Texas were freed from Confederate control

and bondage by their owners. In honor of this day, let's revisit the history of one of America's

most famous anti-slavery figures, Harriet Tubman with a very special guest. You probably know of

Harriet Tubman as somewhat of a superhero,

you know, a woman who possessed great bravery, righteousness, and strength as she escaped slavery

herself and proceeded to personally rescue 70 slaves over the course of 19 trips

back to her home state of Maryland. But maybe this book suggests our tendency to

mythologize Harriet Tubman has the unintended consequence of diminishing her achievements or the

context of her life. In her latest book, Night Flyer, Harriet Tubman and the Faith Dreams of a

free people, American historian Taya Miles from Harvard,

offers a new perspective into the life of Tubman. We learn about different names she went by

throughout her life and the significance of those different identities. We meet her as a woman

of God and come to understand how her faith was informed by her connection to nature,

an experience of the world as a disabled person, too.

So let's meet Harriet Tubman again.

Joining me now is Taya Miles, Professor of History at Harvard University.

Professor Miles may be best known for her 2021 bestseller,

all that she carried, the journey of

Ashley's Sack, a Black Family Keepsake, book that won the National Book Award for

nonfiction. Professor Miles, we're honored that you're spending a little of your Juneteenth

with us. Welcome back to WNYC.

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