Harriet Tubman Visions - Spiritual or Medical?
Harriet Tubman is one of the most inspirational figures in American history. The stories of her fearless exploits helping the enslaved escape to safety on the Underground Railroad are justly famous, but less well-known is the fact that she sustained a brain injury in childhood which left her with crippling headaches and a serious neurological disorder for the rest of her life.
At the age of 12 or 13 a plantation overseer threw a two-pound iron weight at her head and knocked her out cold. She had to be carried back to the farm where she was working and was barely conscious for two days. She received no medical care, and as soon as she was on her feet, she was forced back into the fields to work, with the blood and sweat rolling down her face.
She had a scar and a permanent dent on her forehead, consistent with a depressed skull fracture and afterwards she started experiencing episodes of irresistible sleepiness which would come on suddenly during conversations and when carrying out everyday activities and no one would be able to snap her out of them. The injury also coincided with a burgeoning of religious enthusiasm which she had not shown previously. When she woke up from the sleeping fits she said she had been sent messages from God.
In this historical documentary, I explore the strange neuroscience of Harriet Tubman’s visions.
A special thank you to Ella Last for her assistance in researching this video!
Copyright Disclaimer
The primary purpose of this video is educational. I have tried to use material in the public domain or with Creative Commons Non-attribution licences wherever possible. Where attribution is required, I have listed this below. I believe that any copyright material used falls under the remit of Fair Use, but if any content owners would like to dispute this, I will not hesitate to immediately remove that content. It is not my intention to infringe on content ownership in any way. If you happen to find your art or images in the video, please let me know and I will be glad to credit you.
References
Bailey, L., and Harries, B. (2009). Harriet Tubman: Myth, Memory and History. Ethnicity and Race in a Changing World, 1(2), 93.
Boster, D. H. (2009). An" Epeleptick" Bondswoman: Fits, Slavery, and Power in the Antebellum South. Bulletin of the History of Medicine, 271-301.
Devinsky, O., and Lai, G. (2008). Spirituality and religion in epilepsy. Epilepsy and Behavior, 12(4), 636-643.
Greyson, B., Fountain, N. B., Derr, L. L., and Broshek, D. K. (2014). Out-of-body experiences associated with seizures. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 8, 65.
Hobson, J. (2019). Of “sound” and “unsound” body and mind: Reconfiguring the heroic portrait of Harriet Tubman. Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies, 40(2), 193-218.
Larson, K. C. (2004). Bound for the promised land. New York: Ballantine.
Sabourin, V. M., Holland, R., Mau, C., Gandhi, C. D., and Prestigiacomo, C. J. (2016). Head injury in heroes of the Civil War and its lasting influence. Neurosurgical focus, 41(1), E4.
Sernett, M. C. (2007). Harriet Tubman: Myth, memory, and history. Duke University Press.
Images
Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
Wellcome Foundation
Civil War Museum, Harrisburg
Harriet Tubman National Historical Park
Library of Congress
Other images and video samples Fair Use
Music
Children, Go Where I Send Thee - The Singing Sergeants of the United States Air Force Band. Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
Deep River - Paul Robeson (1940) - Public domain via Internet Archive
Down by the Riverside - Mary C - Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
Down on the Old Campground Dinwiddie Colored Quartet - Public domain via Internet Archive
Go Down Moses - Les Petits Chanteurs de Montigny CC2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
John the Revelator - The Spiritual Four Quartet - public domain via Wikimedia Commons
Nobody Knows the Trouble - Rabanus Flavus - CC0 via Wikimedia Commons
Pharaoh's army got drowned - Colored quartet - Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.
Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child - Bogdan Firla CC Attribution License via KZitem
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot - The Fisk Jubilee Singers - Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
Video produced by Graeme Yorston and Tom Yorston
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