Jailbreak Out of History: The Re-Biography of Harriet Tubman

by Butch Lee

80 pages of crucial revisionist history, firmly rerooting Harriet Tubman in the context of patriarchy, race, class, and armed struggle. A fascinating, and much needed examination of the woman and her times. Her juxtaposition vis a vis the pro-American patriarch John Brown in particular is a great read. At a time when violence against women of color is at the center of world politics, uncovering the censored story of one Amazon points to answers that have nothing to do with government programs, police, or patriarchal politics.

Genres: History, Feminism, Nonfiction, Biography, United States, Race, Gender

Paperback

First published August 3, 2000

About the author

Butch Lee is an Amazon theorist. Her work deals with the need to understand women's struggles in both their class and military dimensions, as well as the fundamental importance of grasping the relationship between colonialism, neo-colonialism, and patriarchy. Her books include The Military Strategy of Women and Children and Night-Vision: Illuminating War and Class on the Neo-Colonial Terrain.

Reviews

[Gaurav · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll keep it short - Butch Lee is the most astute white feminist currently writing in the United States. Her relocation of Harriet Tubman is amazing, placing her as NOT atypical or superhuman - and certainly not some big-hearted humanitarian - but rather as an average Black woman of her day, engaged in all possible forms of struggle.

I put down the book inspired to write her a long rambling email, about my own current research on responses to sexual violence and what an inspiration her work is, as an activist and an intellectual (and a person of color and a man).

[Bart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Butch Lee critiques everything I learned in high school about Harriet Tubman and uncovers Harriet Tubman's past based on context and feminist analysis. I finished this book with the impression that Tubman really was an Amazon, a term chosen by Lee. Also, that Tubman was one of many rebels. Although Tubman may have led an atypical life - taking on men's roles as a nurse and as a leader of male troops carrying arms; later living unmarried - she was certainly not unique.

[Comrade Zupa Ogórkowa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Butch Lee is one of my favourite radical writers- always unapologetic and cuts straight to the jugular on everything she writes about. I love her book on the white washed history of Harriet Tubman and bringing to life her history as a militant revolutionary.

[Justin Goodman · Rating 5 out of 5]

That it's divided into two seemingly unrelated sections -- the biography, then an essay on the oppressive racist structures that plagued/still plague the times -- belies the clever way in which the two sections structure the whole in such a way to reinforce the thesis: Harriet Tubman was amazing, but not exceptional; to remove her from her context as one of many resisting "New Afrikan" women is to dehumanize her and dehistorcize the continuing struggle of black women.

The style can get a bit much (saying "Amerikka" feels dated, even if not wrong) but it's worth the read. If nothing else, it wonderfully illustrates the possibility of a social/cultural history using the character worship inherent to biography as a form.

[Spicy T AKA Mr. Tea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really short, well written, feminist, antiracist, anti-colonialist biography of Harriet Tubman. Lee jumps right in and is an engaging and exciting writer. I had fun reading this. I definitely need to read more about Tubman, thanks to Lee. Hopefully I can find other work equally as satisfying and critical of her placement in history as opposed to who she actually was.

[Allan · Rating 4 out of 5]

a very short and lively account of the story left out of the mythology known as harriet tubman. the author pulls no punches in addressing the damage that HIStory has done to the legacy of Harriet Tubman and militancy in general.

[Nicolas Lontel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pas de bibliographie, aucune citation avec des références (à l'exception de 3, 4), aucune idée d'où viennent les différents renseignements, faits, lettres, etc. que l'auteur met de l'avant (on ne sait même pas qui est cet auteur nul part, ni dans le livre ni sur Internet). On passe le livre à voir des présomptions que les États-Unis (bizarrement mis en minuscule parfois, d'autres fois en majuscule, mais c'est un essai qui se veut militant, pas rigoureux) disent ceci ou cela de Tubman (et minimise son apport, on la désignant comme soignante plutôt que comme soldate), mais je me suis procuré cette biographie en la connaissant comme combattante et libératrice, je n'ai jamais entendu parlé des autres désignations qui minimiserait sa contribution à l'anti-esclavagisme avant de lire cet ouvrage.

Parlons aussi des concepts, d'abord celui d'Amazon qui ouvre le livre de la manière suivante:
"Focus on Amazons. About why we deal with real women as myths. Girls who never really existed. [...] So let's deal with a real Amazon." Bref, on ne sait toujours pas ce qu'est une amazone (juste une guerrière, une société matriarcale, ... ????), mais le reste de l'essai passe son temps à la désigner comme amazone sans aucune justification autre que son seul plaisir à l'assimiler à une figure d'amazone (est-ce qu'on fait plus référence aux récits d'amazones grecques ou à celles sud-américaines? parce que ça ne signifie pas du tout les mêmes choses).
Un autre de ces concepts jamais expliqué, mais toujours utilisé est celui de "New Afrikan" que l'auteur appose à Tubman (et bien d'autres), encore une fois sans jamais demandé son avis (je ne trouve rien sur Internet qui relie la Republic of New Afrika à Tubman autrement que ce livre). Des sources et références auraient probablement été nécessaire ici.

Je pourrais continuer longtemps sur les concepts théoriques inexpliqués ou laissés sans dire (même des concepts lesquels je connais très bien, je me pose des questions sur leur emploi ou leur justification dans ce livre: la herstory, la transformation de l'esclavage en incarcération, etc.). Honnêtement, j'ai trouvé cet essai assez intéressant, les hypothèses sont intéressantes, et beaucoup de choses montrées sont fascinantes, mais l'absence totale de rigueur, de citations, de références vérifiables me font penser que l'auteur peut autant dire n'importe quoi que la vérité. Ainsi, je ne peux pas recommander ce livre.
J'ai cherché d'autres biographies de Tubman avant celles-ci et elles sont en effet super rare et datent souvent de plus d'une siècle, j'imagine que n'aurais pas de réponse à mes questions avant un moment. Il y a un désert d'essai à ce niveau que cet ouvrage aurait pu venir combler s'il avait moindrement sérieux dans sa démarche. Ce livre à l'air d'être un essai de désinformation dans sa forme (et je ne peux jamais vérifier les faits avancés sur Internet ou ailleurs) et ça devrait être un drapeau rouge suffisant pour ne pas prendre ce livre malgré une bonne narration. Tant mieux si c'est vrai et réellement recherché, mais rien ne permet même de le penser.

[Carol Albert · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is an eye-opener in many ways. It is one of several books I've read recently that has me realizing that indeed, the history we learn in schools, and which I accepted and even taught, has been whitewashed. The thing is, I didn't know it was whitewashed. It was all I knew. That's what must be overcome. Lee posits that the renowned Harriet Tubman we all know, has been lost to history, because her accomplishments have been boiled down to a few talking points that, great as they are, belittle her actual accomplishments. She was a warrior, in the thick of the anti-slavery fight, and never a bystander. The thing that bothers me about this book is that the author never sites a source, which reduces credibility of her claims (which I do believe anyway). She uses terms adopted by Malcolm X and New Afrikans, which were never used in Civil War days. And incomplete sentences... It's a little bit of a mess.

[Kersplebedeb · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is available from the Kersplebedeb Literature Rack. You can

[Kersplebedeb · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is available from the Kersplebedeb Literature Rack. You can

[Kyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

kickass as usual. http://www.kersplebedeb.com/mystuff/b...

[HeavyReader · Rating 2 out of 5]

A new take on the life and work of Harriet Tubman, from a feminist perspective.