Comparing Harriet Tubman And Ruby Bridges

According to Webster dictionary, scandalous is involving immoral or shocking things that a person had done or is believed to have done. When scandalous is applied to women, people automatically assume a lot of negative things like, cheater, disgraceful, and sinful. But people in our society do not think of scandalous women in a positive way like, courageous, daring, and warrior. When I think of scandalous women, I think about women that have stepped outside their society given roles to achieve something better. Two women that I believed are scandalous are Harriet Tubman and Ruby Bridges. Harriet Tubman was an African-American who is famously known for the Underground Railroad. Ruby Bridges is also an African-American who is famously known for

Tubman was born around the 1820’s. Harriet Tubman was born a slave in Maryland’s Dorchester County and when she was five she started to work as a house servant and eventually worked in the fields when she was older. Harriet name was originally Araminta Ross and she later changed her name when she married a free black man, John Tubman, in the1844. Tubman was known for standing up for other people and was not afraid to speak up at times. In 1849, Tubman was afraid that she along with other slaves was going to be sold to another plantation owner. When she heard this, she decided to run away. Her husband did not want to go with her leaving her no choice but to escape by herself. She escaped from Maryland to go to Philadelphia. She followed the North Star and used the Underground Railroad to get to freedom. The Underground Railroad was a group of free blacks, whites, and Christian abolitionists who helped slaves escape to the north. Tubman was scandalous for leaving her slave owner, which many people were afraid to do. She overcame her fear and did not let it stop her from reaching freedom. Majority of slaves who escaped to freedom do not go back to the south to salve others, but Tubman scandalous behavior did. Tubman made a second trip back to the south to save her sister, two brothers, nieces and nephews. On the third trip she found out that her husband remarried and decided to save other slaves while

Ruby Bridges attending an all-white school and staying there, gave other black parents courage to send their students to an all-white school. Some white people thought that black people were not smart enough to go to a school with white people, which is why they made black people take entrance exams. When Bridges passed her exam, people were shocked. Bridges lived in a time period where black people were viewed uneducated and unequal. White and black people viewed Bridges as a brave young girl. The protesters came to the school for months wanting her to leave, but Bridges walked into class every day with her head held high. Bridges was scandalous in the eyes of the society because even though the law changed to integrate students, people still expected things to be segregated. Just like Harriet time period, the problem with our society is that people do not like change, but Bridges did not mind it. Bridges courage and kindness attracted a few more black students to attend William Frantz Elementary when she went to second grade. Tubman and Bridges were risk takers that tried to tear down boundaries of society in order to achieve a better life.
Finally, Harriet Tubman and Ruby Bridges inspired generations of Americans struggling for civil