#WCW: 10 Women Honor Harriet Tubman With 100-Mile Walk Along Underground Railroad Route

In honor of Women's History Month, the women of GirlTrek chose to honor the bravery of Harriet Tubman by retracing her escape from slavery to freedom on a 100-mile Underground Railroad route. The route runs from eastern Maryland into Delaware and took the group five days to complete. 

As stated in their Instagram bio, GirlTrek is the "largest public health movement for Black women and girls." The main mission of GirlTrek is to encourage Black women to get active and change their lives by simply walking. The 10-person group that assembled for this challenging demonstration of admiration included members hailing from Sacramento and New Orleans. The group, along with women who joined the effort along the way, documented their journey via social media using the hashtag #HarrietsGreatEscape. 

“What would Harriet do?” [The question that launched the GirlTrek movement.] The answer? “Walk towards the light. Walk towards freedom. And when she learned the way, go back and get others.” Day 1 of our 100-mile walk along the Underground Railroad is officially complete. We pushed through pain and cold and self-doubt to walk 22-Miles. Tomorrow we’ll be back at it again. Send us love! #harrietsgreatescape #harriettubman #walk 📷: @taylorfreesolo

A post shared by GirlTrek (@girltrek) on Mar 6, 2018 at 6:10pm PST

Co-founder of GirlTrek, T. Morgan Dixon shared, "We will show and prove that 2018 is about radical courage and unshakeable sisterhood. Harriet Tubman saved her own life first and then went back time after time to save the lives of others giving us the blueprint for the work GirlTrek does today."

Following Tubman's example, GirlTrek members have first transformed their own lives and serve as examples to inspire each other as the organization grows. GirlTrek has been honoring the historic plight of Harriet Tubman since 2013, the 100^th anniversary of Tubman's reported death.

Because #inwakanda and #inreallife Black Women hug, and cry, and love on each other and support each other in the most beautiful ways. [GirlTrek co-founder @morgantreks embracing a local GirlTrek team leader before the start of the 100-mile journey along the Underground Railroad.] 📷: @taylorfreesolo #harrietsgreatescape #harriettubman #ugrr #blackgirlhealing

A post shared by GirlTrek (@girltrek) on Mar 6, 2018 at 5:41pm PST

They have chronicled their efforts online using the hashtag #WeAreHarriet. "What would Harriet do?" was the question that co-founders Dixon and Vanessa Garrison asked themselves as the inspiration for the formation of GirlTrek. Their interpretation of the answer to this question: "Walk towards the light. Walk to freedom," spawned a new movement of Black women who are health conscious and just as committed to taking care of themselves as they are to their communities. Garrison remarked in a press conference, "If Harriet Tubman could walk herself to freedom, we can certainly walk ourselves to better health.

We salute you, GirlTrek and are sure that the spirit of Harriet Tubman is also beaming with pride.