Russell Simmons learned the hard way that some historical heroes are not to be mocked. His YouTube channel had released a short 3-minute video skit of the Harriet Tubman Sex Diaries. The comedic take was that she used her feminine charms to seduce her enslaver and captured the encounter on video, only to use it as blackmail and get his help building the underground railroad (which in the skit required a shovel and a command to "get digging!").
Of course, that's not how the underground railroad got started at all. And a lot of people ranging from the NAACP to Spike Lee to thousands of black women let Russell Simmons know that the skit was both harmful and hurtful. This was the only video that Russell Simmons every took down, and he explained why, in the form of a couple of apologies.
We have a take down of the apology and we also provide a look into the real life and historic achievements of the woman who will be gracing the front of the US $20 bill...in about 8 more years (heads up: Maya Angelou is appearing on US quarters this year).
Join us in our continued observance of Black History Month and honoring the memory and achievements of Harriet Tubman, a true American Hero.
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