By Kate Clifford Larson

Harriet Tubman was barely 5 feet tall and didn’t have a dime to her name.

What she did have was a deep faith and powerful passion for justice that was fueled by a network of Black and white abolitionists determined to end slavery in America.

“I had reasoned this out in my mind,” Tubman once told an interviewer. “There was one of two things I had a right to, liberty, or death. If I could not have one, I would have the other; for no man should take me alive.”

Though Tubman is most famous for her successes along the Underground Railroad, her activities as a Civil War spy are less well known.

As a biographer of Tubman, I think this is a shame. Her devotion to America and its promise of freedom endured despite suffering decades of enslavement and second class citizenship.

It is only in modern times that her life is receiving the renown it deserves, most notably her likeness appearing on a US$20 bill in 2030. The Harriet Tubman $20 bill will replace the current one featuring a portrait of U.S. President Andrew Jackson.

In another recognition, Tubman was accepted in June 2021 to the United States Army Military Intelligence Corps Hall of Fame at Fort Huachuca, Arizona. She is one of 278 members, 17 of whom are women, honored for their special operations leadership and intelligence work.

Though traditional accolades escaped Tubman for most of her life, she did achieve an honor usually reserved for white officers on the Civil War battlefield.

After she led a successful raid of a Confederate outpost in South Carolina that saw 750 Black people rescued from slavery, a white commanding officer fetched a pitcher of water for Tubman as she remained seated at a table.

A different education

Believed to have been born in March 1822 in Dorchester County, Maryland, Tubman was named Araminta by her enslaved parents, Rit and Ben Ross.

“Minty” was the fifth of nine Ross children. She was frequently separated from her family by her white enslaver, Edward Brodess, who started leasing her to white neighbors when she was just 6 years old.

At their hands, she endured physical abuse, harsh labor, poor nutrition and intense loneliness.

As I learned during my research into Tubman’s life, her education did not happen in a traditional classroom, but instead was crafted from the dirt. She learned to read the natural world – forests and fields, rivers and marshes, the clouds and stars.

She learned to walk silently across fields and through the woods at night with no lights to guide her. She foraged for food and learned a botanist’s and chemist’s knowledge of edible and poisonous plants – and those most useful for ingredients in medical treatments.

She could not swim, and that forced her to learn the ways of rivers and streams – their depths, currents and traps.

She studied people, learned their habits, watched their movements – all without being noticed. Most important, she also figured out how to distinguish character. Her survival depended on her ability to remember every detail.

After a brain injury left her with recurring seizures, she was still able to work at jobs often reserved for men. She toiled on the shipping docks and learned the secret communication and transportation networks of Black mariners.

Known as Black Jacks, these men traveled throughout the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic seaboard. With them, she studied the night sky and the placement and movement of the constellations.

She used all those skills to navigate on the water and land.

“… and I prayed to God,” she told one friend, “to make me strong and able to fight, and that’s what I’ve always prayed for ever since.”

Tubman was clear on her mission. “I should fight for my liberty,” she told an admirer, “as long as my strength lasted.”

The Moses of the Underground Railroad

In the fall of 1849, when she was about to be sold away from her family and free husband John Tubman, she fled Maryland to freedom in Philadelphia.

Between 1850 and 1860, she returned to the Eastern Shore of Maryland about 13 times and successfully rescued nearly 70 friends and family members, all of whom were enslaved. It was an extraordinary feat given the perils of the 1850 Slave Fugitive Act, which enabled anyone to capture and return any Black man or woman, regardless of legal status, to slavery.

Those leadership qualities and survival skills earned her the nickname “Moses” because of her work on the Underground Railroad, the interracial network of abolitionists who enabled Black people to escape from slavery in the South to freedom in the North and Canada.

As a result, she attracted influential abolitionists and politicians who were struck by her courage and resolve – men like William Lloyd Garrison, John Brown and Frederick Douglass. Susan B. Anthony, one of the world’s leading activists for women’s equal rights, also knew of Tubman, as did abolitionist Lucretia Mott and women’s rights activist Amy Post.

“I was the conductor of the Underground Railroad for eight years,” Tubman once said. “and I can say what most conductors can’t say; I never ran my train off the track and I never lost a passenger.”

Battlefield soldier

When the Civil War started in the spring of 1861, Tubman put aside her fight against slavery to conduct combat as a soldier and spy for the United States Army. She offered her services to a powerful politician.

Known for his campaign to form the all-Black 54th and 55th regiments, Massachusetts Gov. John Andrew admired Tubman and thought she would be a great intelligence asset for the Union forces.

He arranged for her to go to Beaufort, South Carolina, to work with Army officers in charge of the recently captured Hilton Head District.

There, she provided nursing care to soldiers and hundreds of newly liberated people who crowded Union camps. Tubman’s skill curing soldiers stricken by a variety of diseases became legendary.

But it was her military service of spying and scouting behind Confederate lines that earned her the highest praise.

She recruited eight men and together they skillfully infiltrated enemy territory. Tubman made contact with local enslaved people who secretly shared their knowledge of Confederate movements and plans.

Wary of white Union soldiers, many local African Americans trusted and respected Tubman.

According to George Garrison, a second lieutenant with the 55th Massachusetts Regiment, Tubman secured “more intelligence from them than anybody else.”

In early June 1863, she became the first woman in U.S. history to command an armed military raid when she guided Col. James Montgomery and his 2nd South Carolina Colored Volunteers Regiment along the Combahee River.

While there, they routed Confederate outposts, destroyed stores of cotton, food and weapons – and liberated over 750 enslaved people.

The Union victory was widely celebrated. Newspapers from Boston to Wisconsin reported on the river assault by Montgomery and his Black regiment, noting Tubman’s important role as the “Black she Moses … who led the raid, and under whose inspiration it was originated and conducted.”

Ten days after the successful attack, radical abolitionist and soldier Francis Jackson Merriam witnessed Maj. Gen. David Hunter, commander of the Hilton Head district, “go and fetch a pitcher of water and stand waiting with it in his hand while a black woman drank, as if he had been one of his own servants.”

In that letter to Gov. Andrew, Merriam added, “that woman was Harriet Tubman.”

Lifelong struggle

Despite earning commendations as a valuable scout and soldier, Tubman still faced the racism and sexism of America after the Civil War.

When she sought payment for her service as a spy, the U.S. Congress denied her claim. It paid the eight Black male scouts, but not her.

Unlike the Union officers who knew her, the congressmen did not believe – they could not imagine – that she had served her country like the men under her command, because she was a woman.

Gen. Rufus Saxton wrote that he bore “witness to the value of her services… She was employed in the Hospitals and as a spy [and] made many a raid inside the enemy’s lines displaying remarkable courage, zeal and fidelity.”

Thirty years later, in 1899, Congress awarded her a pension for her service as a Civil War nurse, but not as a soldier spy.

When she died from pneumonia on March 10, 1913, she was believed to have been 91 years old and had been fighting for gender equality and the right to vote as a free Black woman for more than 50 years after her work during the Civil War.

Surrounded by friends and family, the deeply religious Tubman showed one last sign of leadership, telling them: “I go to prepare a place for you.”

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Kate Clifford Larson, Brandeis University

Read more:

• Harriet Tubman: Biden revives plan to put a Black woman of faith on the bill
• Faith made Harriet Tubman fearless as she rescued slaves
• Harriet Tubman film does not deserve the Twitter hate

Kate Clifford Larson received funding from the National Park Service and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and Department of Tourism 

Feature Image: A portrait of Harriet Tubman in 1878.
Library of Congress/Getty Images

The post Harriet Tubman led military raids during the Civil War appeared first on The Cincinnati Herald .

By Dan Yount

The Cincinnati Herald

The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center recently hosted U.S. Mint Director Ventris Gibson, PhD,  for a pair of talks in celebration of the Harriet Tubman Commemorative Coin series. A portion of those commemorative coins sales will benefit the Freedom Center and the Harriet Tubman Home in Auburn, NY.

The Freedom Center notes that Harriet Tubman spent her life actively pursuing freedom and social justice for all. As one of the most recognized figures of the Underground Railroad, she guided around 70 people to freedom during her time as a conductor. She then went on to serve as a nurse, scout, and even a spy for the Union Army during the Civil War. After the Civil War, until her death in 1913, she lived a life committed to freedom, women’s suffrage, and dignity for all people. In recognition of the 2022 Bicentennial of her birth, this groundbreaking commemorative program showcases Harriet Tubman’s life reflected in unique designs in a gold, silver, and half-dollar coins.

In 2022, Congress passed Public law 117-163 known as the Harriet Tubman Bicentennial Commemorative Coin Act which “directs the U.S. Mint to issue $5 gold coins, $1 silver coins, and a half dollar clad coin.” 

Gibson is the first person of color to lead the U.S. Mint in its 232-year history. In her previous position, she was the highest ranking woman at the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.

On July 19, the Freedom Center hosted Director Gibson for a fireside chat to discuss the importance of representation, equity and building generational wealth. On July 20, Gibson shared how the U.S. Mint is making history by adding one of history’s greatest freedom heroes to the pantheon of American heroes by etching her in gold and silver as part of the Harriet Tubman Commemorative Coin program.

Gibson celebrated Harriet Tubman’s life and legacy as she is honored in a series of commemorative coins, each representing a different period of her storied life: a clad half-dollar representing Tubman’s service as a military leader during the Civil War; a silver dollar celebrating her iconic role as a conductor on the Underground Railroad; and a $5 gold coin depicting Tubman as a humanitarian during the final five decades of her life.

Gibson said she champions the importance of learning Black history and the significance of highlighting Black women in history, while giving inspiration to younger generations. 

Surcharges from the sale of each coin are equally split between the Freedom Center and The Harriet Tubman Home, supporting the mission of the organizations. Coins can be purchased at the Freedom Center or directly through the U.S. Mint online.

In discussing the U.S. Mint, which goes back to 1792, Gibson said the Mint has grown to become the largest, best mint in the world and encompasses five facilities, including mints in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, West Point, San Francisco and Denver, and the bullion depository at Fort Knox, which is the keeper of the country’s gold. The Mint manufactures billions of coins that are placed in circulation each year, with more than 13 billion new coins issued last year.

Gibson said her father advised her that trust is the hallmark of a leader, and in applying that advice she visits each facility two times a year, meeting with and hearing out the many highly skilled employees at each site. “My leadership style is to have our 1,700 employees get up each day looking forward to going to work,” she said.

Another goal, she said, is to develop more diversity in coin collector shows.

“However, it is most important people see their reflections in our coins,” she said, “and we have to show the diversity and inclusiveness of America in our coins.”

Thus, the Tubman coins. 

“We have come too far as a people to not recognize Harriet Tubman and what she did for us,” she said.

What’s next for Gibson and the U.S. Mint? Having just issued the Gold Medals for the 2024 Olympics in  Paris, they are preparing to mint commemorative coinage for the 250th Anniversary of the United States, which will be observed in 2026.

The post Harriet Tubman commemorative coins celebrate legacy appeared first on The Cincinnati Herald .

Two centuries after her birth, Harriet Tubman is honored for a limited time by an inspirational statue outside the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. The 11-foot bronze statue honoring one of humanity’s greatest heroes was unveiled at a ceremony at the Freedom Center March 4. The statue, titled the Beacon of Hope, will be on display through April 30.

The Beacon of Hope, produced by Wofford Sculpture Studio, tells Tubman’s continuing story, amplifying her message of equality so all may hear it. In her hand she holds a symbolic generational key for people to unlock their own inner strength. At her feet are the yoke of slavery and the shackles cast off by Tubman and others she helped liberate, as well as the closed shackles of those yet unfree. The heroic Tubman’s hand is raised as a North Star for those seeking freedom.

“It is the Freedom Center’s continuing hope that generations of children and adults alike will find the inspiration and courage to walk in Tubman’s footsteps, drawing strength from the powerful story of one of humanity’s great heroes. Like Tubman – who guided 70 enslaved people to freedom, never losing a passenger – we may find that we can be the beacon of hope for others,” said Woodrow Keown Jr., President/COO, National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.

At the unveiling ceremony, remarks were also made by Congressman Greg Landsman, Representative OH-01, United States House of Representatives, and Alicia Reece, President, Hamilton County Commissioners

Keown added, “It’s a remarkable addition to our city, allowing us to help tell the stories of those who fought for freedom. Tubman’s story is not just a chapter in history, it’s a continuous call to action for all of us.”

As a programming component to the statue, the Freedom Center hosted Karen Hill, President and CEO of the Harriet Tubman Home Inc. in Auburn, N.Y, to discuss the lesser-known history of Tubman to a sold-out audience of students and educators on March 6. (Contributions to this article were made with permission from Shay Dawson, National Women’s History Month Predoctoral Fellow in Gender Studies and author of Harriet Tubman. 1822-1913, written for National Women’s History Month). Their account of Tubman’s life follows:

Born Araminta Ross in March of 1822 to parents Harriet (Rit) Green Ross, a slave, and Benjamin Ross, a freeman, Tubman was one of nine children, Hill said. The Ross family were enslaved in Dorchester County, Maryland. The children of enslaved women were also considered enslaved, regardless of whether their fathers were enslaved or not. The Ross’ enslaver, Edward Brodess, did not allow the family to remain together and worked to split them up through the assignment of work.

In 1828 at the age of six, Brodess rented out Tubman to provide childcare for nearby overseers. Tubman was always able to separate how much she loved the beautiful land where she was born from the brutal slavery that existed there.

Tubman’s life would change forever at the age of 13. In 1835, while she was running errands at a local store, she witnessed another enslaved person’s attempted escape. As the enslaver became desperate in their attempt to recapture the freedom seeker, he threw a two pound weight. Rather than hitting the intended target, he struck Tubman in the back of the head and fractured her skull.

Her mother nursed Tubman back to health, while she was in a coma for nearly three months. After the incident, physical pain became a part of Tubman’s life. As a result of her visions, her disability is often associated with her religiosity. Both elements were key in her determination to seek liberation for the enslaved.

She negotiated with Brodess to select her own work assignments. He agreed so long as she paid him a yearly fee. From then on, Tubman hired herself out on her own terms.  

It was around this time that she met her future husband, freedman John Tubman. The couple married in 1844 when Tubman was 22 years old. Upon their union, she changed her name from Araminta “Minty” Ross, to Harriet (likely after her mother) Tubman. 

Making use of her wealth of knowledge gained over the years, Tubman set her sights on escaping to Philadelphia. Although small in stature, she pressed onward alone, guided to Pennsylvania by the stars. 

With the help of abolitionists along the way, Tubman journeyed from the Brodess’ farm in Maryland to Pennsylvania. In Philadelphia, she made connections with abolitionists, namely William Still, a conductor on the Underground Railroad. Tubman learned more about the Underground Railroad from Still. The more Tubman learned, the more her desire to see her family free grew. She decided to return for them in 1850.

After a successful first trip in which she brought both family and friends to freedom, she became a Conductor on the UGRR. She succeeded in her second journey as well and, on her third in 1851, Tubman returned for her husband, John. She quickly discovered that he thought she was dead, and he had remarried. John’s new wife was pregnant. Though heartbroken, she offered to take the couple to freedom, but John refused.  

In 1850, Congressional passage of the Fugitive Slave Act changed the calculus for Conductors like Tubman. The Act “stipulated that it was illegal for any citizen to assist an escaped slave and demanded that if an escaped slave was sighted, he or she should be apprehended and turned in to the authorities for deportation back to the ‘rightful’ owner down south.   

Tubman conducted eleven trips from Maryland to St. Catherines, Ontario, Canada between 1850 and 1860. All of these journeys–23 in total– over the years made Tubman a hero, with many African Americans–both free and enslaved–dubbing her “Moses” after the biblical figure.

Tubman brought approximately 70 individuals (including her parents, Rit and Ben) to freedom.

In 1857, after working to free her parents, Tubman initially brought them to Canada with her, but ultimately settled in Auburn, New York. Auburn was a hotbed of abolition and felt like an ideal place for Tubman and her family to settle.

Through her years at the Auburn home, Tubman was able to provide education for children and healthcare services for all, both important concerns for her.

Hill continued with a narrative about Tubman’s personality, saying she liked everybody and treated them as if she was their mother, and she welcomed anyone, including orphans,  people who were disabled, and  anyone  too old to work and support themselves, into her home. She showed others the way and gave them the intestinal fortitude to carry on. As for her, she never felt inferior to anybody, and she had the accomplishments to back her self confidence.

In 1857, she met abolitionist John Brown. Brown was outspoken in his support of antislavery. Tubman and Brown formed a close friendship. While planned as a way to steal guns at Harper’s Ferry and start a revolt to free enslaved people across the South, the Brown’s raid ultimately ended in failure. Brown was hung shortly thereafter. Tubman was not in attendance for the raid as it had been rescheduled or at his hanging due to illness. 

She lived in the time of Black abolitionist Frederick Douglass, and related to his advocacy for community, social justice, equality and freedom.

In April 1861, the American Civil War broke out over the issue of slavery. Tubman saw an opportunity to get involved, enlisting in the Union Army as a nurse where she cared for wounded soldiers. In 1863, Tubman took on the role of a scout and organized a group of spies. She recruited enslaved people interested in assisting the Union. Tubman helped Colonel James Montgomery coordinate the Combahee River Raid in South Carolina. The raid was wildly successful with Montgomery’s troops freeing approximately 750 enslaved people. With their newfound freedom, many of the formerly enslaved men opted to join the Union’s fight against the Confederacy. To date, Tubman is recognized as the first woman in US history to both plan and lead a military raid. In June 2021, the Army inducted her into the Military Intelligence Corps.

During her time with the Union Army, Tubman met her second husband, Nelson Davis. The couple married in 1869 in Auburn, NY, where he, Tubman, and her freed family members would live out their days. Nelson built the family a home, which still stands as of 2024. It is also in Auburn where Tubman founded the Home for the Aged.

A staunch supporter of the suffrage movement, Tubman worked alongside various upstate-NY based suffragists, such as Lucretia Mott, Susan B. Anthony, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. The interests of abolitionists were aligned closely with those of suffragists, with both movements concerned with autonomy and freedom. However, Black women were not included in that movement, and Tubman unsuccessfully advocated for that extension. 

Nelson Davis passed away in 1888. In his absence, Tubman continued to dedicate her final 25 years to philanthropic efforts. In 1913, at the age of 91, Harriet Tubman died of pneumonia in the Home for the Aged & Indigent Negroes. In her final words, Tubman called upon her faith and made reference to John 14:3 in the Bible. She stated, “I go away to prepare a place for you, that where I am you also may be.” She was laid to rest in the Fort Hill Cemetery in Auburn.

Of service to her community until the very end, Harriet Tubman’s legacy remains relevant. As of 2024, the United States Mint launched the 2024 Harriet Tubman Commemorative Coin Program. The program is timely as it honors the two hundredth anniversary of Harriet Tubman’s birth.  

Continued discussions about and homages to Tubman stems from her powerful narrative of taking control of her own destiny and ultimately forging a path for others. She is celebrated not only for the hundreds of enslaved that she freed over the course of her lifetime, but for all of those who still look to her story for guidance. Just as she looked to the North Star to carry her to freedom, her work and values remain a guiding light to many to continue onward–no matter how harrowing the path ahead. 

The Tubman Home is operated by the National Park Service.

The Harriet Tubman Commemorative Coin, is available for purchase directly from the Freedom Center or directly through the U.S. Mint online. A portion of the proceeds from each coin sold will equally support the missions of the Freedom Center and the Harriet Tubman Home in Auburn, NY.

Hill, with the aid of Keown, wrote the legislation for the striking of the coins.

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By Cody Hefner

Freedom Center

PHILADELPHIA – Leaders from the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center participated in a ceremony at the United States Mint to strike the first Harriet Tubman commemorative coins. The series of three coins celebrating the iconic Underground Railroad conductor will be available starting January 4, 2024, with a portion of the proceeds supporting the Freedom Center.

The commemorative coins will be available in three denominations, each representing a different era in Tubman’s life. A clad half-dollar coin representing Tubman’s service as a military leader during the Civil War, including the Combahee River Raid that freed over 700 enslaved people. A $1 silver coin celebrating her iconic role as a conductor on the Underground Railroad, guiding enslaved people to freedom. A $5 gold coin depicting Tubman as a humanitarian during the final five decades of her life. Proceeds from the surcharges will support the Freedom Center and Harriet Tubman Home.

“Today we enshrine Harriet Tubman among not only the pantheon of American heroes, but of freedom’s heroes throughout history,” said Woodrow Keown Jr., president/COO of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. “I’m honored today to indelibly etch Ms. Tubman into our collective heritage as the triumphant, resilient champion of freedom she is.  She will continue to be our conductor to freedom and she will continue to inspire us a leader in our ongoing journey toward equity.”

At the strike ceremony, the Freedom Center was joined by leaders from AME Zion Church and the Harriet Tubman Home in Auburn, NY. Tubman’s historic home will also receive support from the sale of the coins. The ceremony was led by Ventris C. Gibson, the first African American director of the United States Mint.

The coins honoring one of the nation’s iconic freedom heroes are the result of bilateral legislation to celebrate Tubman’s enduring legacy. The Harriet Tubman Bicentennial Commemorative Coin Act was co-introduced in the Senate in 2021 by then-Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) – who joined the strike ceremony in Philadelphia as a guest of the Freedom Center – and Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and co-introduced in the House by Representatives Gregory Meeks (D-NY) and John Katko (R-NY).

Also joining the Freedom Center was Damon Jones, chief communications officer of Procter & Gamble and a member of the Freedom Center Board of Directors. The Freedom Center secured P&G as lead sponsor for this initiative.

Harriet Tubman is perhaps the most recognized figure from the era of the Underground Railroad, the clandestine network by which enslaved individuals sought to liberate themselves in the first half of the 19^th century. Born into slavery as Araminta “Minty” Ross in March 1822 on a plantation in Maryland, Tubman self-liberated via the Underground Railroad in 1849, crossing from Maryland to the free state of Pennsylvania. She returned to Maryland 13 times over the next decade, leading 70 enslaved people to freedom in Canada.

The Harriet Tubman commemorative coins will be available for purchase individually or as a set directly from the U.S. Mint website or at the Freedom Center.

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Her story hidden in secrecy no more, The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati (TCT) presents HARRIET TUBMAN: STRAIGHT UP OUTTA THE UNDERGROUND. 

​​​​Bring the past to the present and change the future with this one-woman interactive storytelling experience. Uncover the painful truth about America’s 200-year-old struggle with slavery when you play a part in this historic retelling. On this journey, audiences will follow Harriet Tubman, the most recognized conductor of the Underground Railroad. Nicknamed “Moses,” Harriet Tubman lived up to this name by gaining her own freedom, as well as traveling back and forth from North to South more than 19 times and freeing 300 slaves!

The Children’s Theater will bring the story of Harriett Tubman to life on stage. This show is most enjoyed by those in grades 3-8 as well as adults and will be presented on the Ralph and Patricia Corbett Showtime Stage, 4015 Red Bank Road, Cincinnati, OH  45227. Only 152 seats are available for each performance. A question-and-answer session follows every show.  

Performances will be held:

• Saturday, March 14 at 2 PM and 5 PM
• Sunday, March 15 at 2 PM

Tickets to each production are $10 each (plus service fees) and are available exclusively through ticketmaster.com or by visiting TCT’s Red Bank Road Ticket Office, M-F, 9am-6pm. Mainstage subscribers pay just $7 per ticket – a savings of $3. Tickets available now.

The post The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati Presents HARRIET TUBMAN: STRAIGHT UP OUTTA’ THE UNDERGROUND appeared first on The Cincinnati Herald .

By Dwight Brown NNPA Newswire Film Critic 

Look back on the most noteworthy films of 2019 and they all display a diverse array of superb talent—in front of and behind the camera.  

These movies entertained, educated and often inspired us. They challenged our opinions. They made us contemplate our fate and become more aware of the world around us.  

Enjoy. 

Best Films 

Booksmart (***1/2) – Two coeds (Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever), high-school outcasts, find refuge in their close friendship. Animated performances.  Funny and thoughtful dialogue. Astute comic direction by first–time filmmaker and noted actress Olivia Wilde. Who knew nerdy teen angst could be hilarious? 

Dolemite Is My Name (****) – King of comedy Eddie Murphy rises like a phoenix in this oh-so-hysterical ode to comedian and pioneering indie filmmaker Rudy Ray Moore. Dream team cast includes: Keegan-Michael Key, Craig Robinson, Tituss Burgess, Wesley Snipes, Mike Epps and scene stealer Da’Vine Joy Randolph. 

The Farewell (***1/2) – An Asian family handles the last-chapter of life process with charm to spare. Writer/director Lulu Wang digs into her own experiences in a premise and script filled with colorful kin folk. Star turns by Awkwafina, Shuzhen Zhao and Tzi Ma make the characters lifelike.  

Harriet (***) – Depicting the legendary life of the courageous abolitionist Harriet Tubman is a task few are worthy of. Director Kasi Lemmons (Eve’s Bayou) is the chosen one. Her epic bio tale catalogs the inhumanity and humanity of the 1800s. Cynthia Erivo (Widows) infuses Tubman’s spirit in every frame. Terence Blanchard’s emotionally charged musical score is haunting.  

The Irishman (****) — Martin Scorsese, Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci and Al Pacino team up for an impressive crime/drama/thriller about a man who purportedly murdered Jimmy Hoffa. Brilliant performances. Strong direction, writing and editing. Ingenious use of CGI. The crowning achievement of Scorsese’s career.  

The Lighthouse (****) – Two workers (Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe) and a bunch of seagulls are engaged in a melodramatic relationship at a desolate New England lighthouse, circa 1890s. Brutal allegory. Totally engaging. Director/writer Robert Eggers and co-writer Max Eggers make riveting cinema on a black and white canvas (cinematographer Jarin Blaschke). 

Little Women (****) — Actress turned director Greta Gerwig gives the classic Louisa May Alcott Civil War novel her own feminist spin with relatable three-dimensional characters. Fiery relationships among sisters, parents and friends. Feels like you’re on a long buggy ride with lots of bumps in the road. Superb performances by Saoirse Ronan, Timothée Chalamet and Laura Dern. 

Marriage Story (****) — Writer/director Noah Baumbach captures the angst of thirtysomethings (Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson) going through what should have been a friendly D-I-V-O-R-C-E that turns into a war of threats, betrayals and raw emotions. As primal in ways as Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Full of life at its worst and people struggling to take their next steps.

Queen & Slim (****) – Easily the most talked about black movie of the year. Director Melina Matsoukas (HBO’s Insecure) and  screenwriter Lena Waithe (TV’s Master of None) weave a very modern crime tale and a poignant love story together. Hints of social relevance are threaded in. Lovers on the run are played by Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith. So thoughtful. So cool. So romantic. 

Uncut Gems (****) — A gregarious, Jewish NYC jeweler (Adam Sandler) is deep in debt to thugs. His schemes dig him into a deeper hole. Gritty, sewer-level urban drama written and directed by the very talented brothers Benny and Josh Safdie. Sandler deserves an Oscar nom. Kevin Garnett, Idina Menzel, Julia Fox and LaKeith Stanfield round out a powerhouse cast.

Best Directors 

• Noah Baumbach = Marriage Story 
• Robert Eggers =The Lighthouse 
• Greta Gerwig = Little Women 
• Melina Matsoukas = Queen & Slim 
• Martin Scorsese = The Irishman 

Best First Films 

• Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre = The Mustang 
• Mati Diop = Atlantics 
• Melina Matsoukas = Queen & Slim 
• Olivia Wilde = Booksmart 
• Phillip Youmans = Burning Cane 

Best Foreign Language Films 

• Ash Is Purest White 
• Atlantics 
• Corpus Christi 
• Les Misérables 
• Transit 

Best Documentaries 

• After Parkland 
• Miles Davis: The Birth of the Cool 
• David Crosby: Remember My Name 
• Pavarotti  
• Tony Morrison: The Pieces I Am 

Best Actors  

• Robert DeNiro = The Irishman 
• Daniel Kaluuya = Queen & Slim 
• Eddie Murphy = Dolemite Is My Name 
• Robert Pattinson = The Lighthouse 
• Adam Sandler = Uncut Gems 

Best Actresses 

• Awkwafina = The Farewell 
• Cynthia Erivo = Harriet 
• Lupita Nyong’o = Us  
• Alfre Woodard = Clemency 
• Renee Zellweger = Judy 

Best Supporting Actors  

• Jamie Foxx = Just Mercy 
• Aldis Hodge = Clemency  
• Joe Pesci = The Irishman 
• Brad Pitt = Once Upon a Time in Hollywood 
• Bokeem Woodbine = Queen & Slim 

Best Supporting Actresses 

• Indya Moore = Queen & Slim 
• Florence Pugh = Little Women 
• Da’Vine Joy Randolph = Dolemite Is My Name 
• Jennifer Lopez = Hustlers  
• Shuzhen Zhao = The Farewell  

Best Screenplays 

• Ad Astra = James Gray, Ethan Gross 
• The Farewell = Lulu Wang 
• The Lighthouse = Max Eggers, Robert Eggers 
• Little Women = Greta Gerwig 
• Queen & Slim = Lena Waithe 

Best Cinematography 

• 1917 = Roger Deakins  
• Atlantics = Claire Mathon 
• The Irishman = Rodrigo Prieto 
• The Lighthouse = Jarin Blaschke 
• Queen + Slim = Pete Beaudreau 

Best Animation/CGI 

• Frozen II 
• How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World  
• I Lost My Body 
• Toy Story 4 

Other Great Films 

1917, Ad Astra, Avengers: Endgame, The Beach Bum, Giant Little Ones, Good Boys, A Hidden Life, Hotel Mumbai, Hustlers, The Mustang, Never Grow Old, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, The Report, Rocketman, Sauvage, Skin, Us, The Two Popes, Woman at War. 

HAPPY HOLIDAYS. 

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