Slavery was abolished in Canada in 1833, the same year as Britain passed the Abolition of Slavery Act. In the US it didn't happen until 1865. Each year the Canadians commemorate those men and women who risked their lives to help smuggle fugitive slaves to freedom across the Canadian border.
One of the most famous figures is Harriet Tubman. She was born in Maryland in the 1820s but later escaped to Ontario. She is reputed to have returned to the South 19 times to smuggle 300 people to safety. In black history month Susan Poizner looks back on her life as reflected in a new biography of Harriet Tubman to be published later this year. Kate Larson's biography of Harriet Tubman, 'Bound for the Promised Land: Harriet Tubman, Portrait of an American Hero' is due out in December.
