EPISODE 5 - “Harriet”
[Location: July 1896, Washington, D.C. – Outside the Convention of the National Federation of Afro-American Women]
Lotty: Isaiah! The rip in the sash must’ve pushed us forward in history without taking us home. Seriously - we have to fix it! If we don’t repair this sash... who knows if we’ll ever get back!
Isaiah (oozing sarcasm): No problem, let me just fix it with my sewing kit.
L: Hey, I’m not the one who ripped it! We have to ...
Harriet Tubman (interrupting): Excuse me, children. Are you alright?
L: Uhhh.
I: Whoa. You look a lot like the pictures in our classroom of...
HT: I’m Mrs. Harriet Tubman.
I: Mm-hm.
L: No. Way.
H: Pleased to meet you. Have you fallen? Been in an accident?
I: No. No, we’re OK.
HT: Very well then, I’ll leave you to it. I’m about to make my address.
I: You’re gonna make a speech? Now?
HT: I am, child.
I: I’m sorry...what is this?
HT: You’re on the doorstep of the first meeting of the National Federation of Afro-American Women; Mrs. Mary Church Terrell and I have formed the National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs
right this very day.
I: Um, can we come with you, Mrs. Tubman? I mean, can we come hear your speech?
L (whispering): What about the sash?!
HT: There’s nothing stopping you.
L (under her breath): Actually there is.
HT: Well, don’t just sit there in a heap, children. Come along. No dillydallying.
I: No ma’am. No dilly-dallying. (then whispered) Lotty - snap out of it! It’s a double header! Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman in the same day! Come on!
[The sounds of their hurried footsteps]
[Location: JULY 1896, Washington, D.C. - inside Convention of the National Federation of Afro-American Women]
[We hear the SOUND OF APPLAUSE ...]
I: Harriet Tubman...She risked her life to free over 70 enslaved people.
H: Thank you. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. It has been my great honor to address you all today. If you remember one thing from my talk today, I’d like it to be that the intention of The National Association of Colored Women is to furnish evidence of the moral, mental and material progress made by people of color through the efforts of our women. And we shall not stop at anything less. Thank you.
[We hear MORE APPLAUSE. Then FOOTSTEPS.]
A Backstage Helper: Water, Mrs. Tubman?
HT: Thank you, Thomas. That was a long speech. [We hear her DRINK. ]
I: That was amazing! I mean, I’ve read a lot about you, but to actually hear you speak in person ...
HT: Every dream begins with a dreamer. I must admit, I’m surprised to see you two still here.
I: Are you kidding, we couldn’t miss that. Our teacher would never forgive us.
HT: You must have a very forward-thinking teacher.
L: Oh yeah. She’s definitely ... forward.
I (under his breath): 124 years forward.
L (hushing him): Shhh.
[We hear FOOTSTEPS and then ...]
Florence, now 58, is there.
F: Oh, Mrs. Tubman - there you are. That was -
I: Hey, look who it is.
L: We’re back.
F: Jumping Jehosaphat!
HT (with a smile): Florence, allow me to introduce you to my new friends ...
F (laughing a bit): No introduction necessary, Mrs. Tubman. I’m quite familiar with these two ragamuffins.
HT: Are you, now? Well that’s a relief. I was beginning to think they’d just appeared out of thin air.
F (laughing a bit more): I can see why you’d think that, Mrs. Tubman. I certainly can.
HT: Well, I’m off then. I have a meeting with Mrs. Booker T. Washington and the National League of Colored Women.
F: Very well. Give her my best and good day to you, Mrs. Tubman.
HT: Good day, Florence.
[We hear HARRIET’S FOOTSTEPS as she exits.]
F: Well, well, well. Lotty and Isaiah. What’s it been this time? About eight years I’d say?
I: Eight years and three months. Which means you’re...58 years old?
F (chuckles): Thank you for keeping such good tabs on my age, Isaiah. Now, if I recall, you last left me having to convince Frederick Douglass that you’d run off to find your parents.
I: Yeah. Sorry about that.
F: You completely vanished before our eyes. And I was sorry to see you go. I really do look forward to your visits.
L: I’ve been trying to figure out where our next stops might be. Seems like the sash had a lot to teach us.
F: I’ve never asked you - whose sash is it?
L: Um. Pretty sure it’s yours.
F (laughing): Mine?! I think I’d know if I had a time-traveling sash.
I: That’s the thing. You haven’t worn it yet.
L: It will be yours. In about ...
I: 24 years, maybe.
F: 24 years! How long do you think I plan to live?!
I: You’d be 82 in 1920.
F: Ha! 82. I guess you know what the world might be like by then.
L: Well...
F: I know, I know. I won’t ask. But I hope perhaps by then, women might have the constitutional right to vote. Oh, what would I give to cast my vote like a proper, equal citizen of this country.
L: Don’t give up, Flo. I believe you’ll make it to the ballot box one day.
I (low): Lotty, we don’t know if she -
L: Shhhh.
F: Now, what are we to do about the pair of you this time?
I: I don’t suppose you have a needle and thread, Florence?
F: But of course, I do. (with a wink) What kind of activist housewife would I be without one? [We hear her RUSTLE IN HER BAG.] Ah - here you are. What seems to be the problem with your sash?
L: It’s busted.
F: That is a problem. So if I help you fix this, when can I expect you again?
I: Hard to say...
L: But I really want to see how this all ends up.
F: So I’ll see you again?
L: We honestly don’t know.
F: Well, I’ll certainly miss you if you stop popping up in my life every decade or so.
L: We’ll miss you too. There! Done! It’s not exactly perfect, but I think it’s good enough.
I: You think?
L: I hope so. It’ll have to do. Here’s your needle and thread back.
F: No, you keep it. Just in case. Off with you, while no one else is around.
L: Yeah...
I: We’ll see ya’.
F: See ya. Lotty, is something wrong?
L: I just...it was really great meeting you. I’m proud that you’re part of my family.
F: You, too. And you as well, Isaiah.
[We hear her KISS them both.]
F: Good luck. Tell 2020 I said hello.
L: Isaiah - hold my hand while I take off the sash. On the count of three. One ... two ...
I/L: Threeeeeeeeeee.
[WHIZ - BAM - BANG - WHOOSH - uh-oh - CLANK - BONK - BOOP - WARBLE ...]
I/L: Whoaaaaaaaaaa!
Aly Raisman: There they go again. Wonder where Lotty and Isaiah are going to end up next. The path to women's suffrage was definitely a long one.
Hi, I'm Olympic gymnast and advocate Aly Raisman.
The early suffragists faced a lot of opposition to their cause.The so-called “anti-suffrage” movement was made up of men and women not just in America, but in countries all over the world. Called "remonstrants" or "antis”, people like Josephine Dodge argued that giving women the right to vote would be too much for them and take away the privileges they enjoyed as women.
The Antis argued that if women could vote, how could they keep their traditional gender roles and fulfill their main responsibilities in the home?
Personally, I think voting is one of the most important rights anyone can have. Being able to vote gives me a voice in my own future and the future of our country.
Lotty and Isaiah have been learning that same lesson in their time travels. But it sounds like something's going wrong with that sash of theirs. I hope they can get it back under control.
[Montage - ISAIAH and LOTTY are heard through a SLO-MO WARPED SOUND while the CAMEO SPEAKERS are heard clearly.
I/L: Whoaaaaaaaaaa!
I: What’s happening???!
L: Uh oh! I think the sash has gone rogue!
I: We’re nowhere and everywhere all at once.
L: Look down there! All those people gathered! Who is that speaking?
Abigail Adams: If we mean to have heroes, statesmen and philosophers, we should have learned women.
L: I think that’s Abigail Adams!
[We hear a WHOOSH!]
I: Whoa! Guess we’re not stopping there!
[We hear a WHIZ!]
L: I think we’re just randomly flying through time and space!
Elizabeth Cady Stanton: We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal.
I: It’s Elizabeth Cady Stanton!
[We hear a WHOOSH-WHIZ!]
L: Whoa! How do we stop?!?
I: I don’t know, but look over there!
Frederick Douglass: It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.
I: You preach, Frederick Douglass!
[We hear a WARBLE!]
I/L: Whoaaaaaa!
Harriet Tubman: Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.
L (calling out from afar): We love you, Harriet Tubman!
[We hear a BIDDELY BOOM ...]
I: Lotty! We’re picking up speed!
L: I know, but there’s Susan B. Anthony!
Susan B. Anthony: There never will be complete equality until women themselves help to make laws and elect lawmakers.
L: You go Susan B. Anthony!
[We hear a CRICKITY CRACKLE ... THEY SHOUT over the WHOOSH of TIME TRAVEL!]
I: Lotty, we gotta do something!
L: I don’t know what to do!
I: Think!
L: OK - maybe - if we both put our minds to it - like visualize landing in my basement - maybe that will help?!
ISAIAH: Yeah, but I ...
LOTTY: What?!
I: Do you really wanna land in your basement without seeing the main event?
L: You mean?
I: The 19th amendment. Women getting the right to vote!
L: You’re right! I want to see Florence cast her first vote! If we’re gonna visualize something - let’s visualize that. 100 years ago!
I: There’s no guarantee we’ll be able to get to the exact moment in history that we want.
L: We have to try.
I: Okay, put the sash over your head and we’ll both imagine...a 1920 voting booth.
L: Okay. Ready ...
I: Okay, one, two...
L/I: Threeeeeeeeee!
[In SLO-MO we hear THEM REMOVE THE SASH AND WHIZ - BAM - BANG – WHOOSH]
L/I: Whoaaaaaaaaaaa!
[Location: MARCH 3, 1913 - EXT. WASHINGTON D.C. - WOMAN SUFFRAGE PROCESSION]
[We hear horses clip-clopping down cobblestone streets, crowds of women singing the Star-Spangled Banner, sounds of 1913 ambulance sirens, etc. Then we hear a thud. (”Ow!” “Oooo!” “Why can’t we ever land in a soft bush or something?!” “Thank goodness we came to a stop!” Etc.) Then we hear Lotty gasp!]
I: It’s...a parade?
L: Isaiah! Look out for the float!!!
L/I: Ahhhhhhh!
[Off their screams mixed with the Star-Spangled Banner]
END OF EPISODE 5.
Washington, DCAlbaugh's Opera House
National Historical ParkHarriet Tubman Underground Railroad
Harriet Tubman National Historical Park