According to talk show host Doug Wheatley, the Virgin Islands has its own Harriet Tubmans ‘but we have not been able to sort of look at them in that way and honouring them and it is about that time we do so.’ Photo: VINO/File

Harriet Tubman escaped slavery to become a leading abolitionist in the United States. She led hundreds of enslaved people to freedom along the route of the Underground Railroad. She was born into slavery in Maryland in 1820, and successfully escaped in 1849. Photo: Internet Source

Host of the show, Doug Wheatley pointed out to American abolitionist and humanitarian Harriet Tubman, who according to WWW.history.com, was born a slave and became a famous conductor on the Underground Railroad, leading hundreds of slaves to freedom. Her portrait, Aljazeera.com, noted, will replace the countenance of the US’s Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill. She will become the first African American on US paper money and the first woman to be depicted on the country’s currency in 100 years. The portrait of the former President will be pushed to the back of the note.

Mr Wheatley urged callers from across the territory to call in and point out the phenomenal women who took the form from captain down to cook, such as the midwives, business owners, mothers, wives, the no-nonsense women, to name a few.

It is time to rehash their memories

“It’s about time that we try to mention them and rehash their memories and their histories,” Wheatley said.

Adding, “The other day I was looking at something on television and they were talking about Harriet Tubman in the United States who during the days of slavery had helped so many persons out of slavery and of course now they are thinking of putting her face on a $20 note. And I feel that we have had our Harriet Tubmans down here but we have not been able to sort of look at them in that way and honouring them and it is about that time we do so.”

Those women past and present who contributed significantly, from Virgin Gorda, Anegada, Jost Van Dyke and Tortola, were remembered and commended for their efforts on the 90-minute radio programme.