The Treasury Department may have halted plans to release a $20 bill bearing Harriet Tubman’s face, but they certainly can’t stop the impact that the iconic abolitionist leader has on this country. Over the weekend, proof of that emerged when a photo of a 3-year-old Maryland girl reaching out to grab a mural depiction of the freedom fighter’s hand, went viral.
According to Yahoo Lifestyle Auriah “Lovie” Duncan was walking with her grandmothers, Tracy and Tammy Lynndee, when they came upon the mural of Harriet Tubman in Cambridge, Maryland. The piece that now adorns the side of the Harriet Tubman Museum & Educational Center, was commissioned by Dorchester Center for the Arts for the 50th Anniversary of the Maryland State Arts Council and painted by local muralist Michael Rosato.
“She wanted to go up and give [Harriet] a high-five,” Tracy told Yahoo News about “Lovie’s” reaction to seeing the realistic image. “So she went over and put her hand up there and I took a picture.”
Once the women got back from their walk, they decided to post the photo to Facebook. According to Yahoo, Tracy posted it to her personal page first with the caption “Lovie Meets Harriet” before also uploading it to the couple’s store page. From there, it attracted the attention of the Harriet Tubman Museum who posted it to theirs.
“We think this mural will be providing a lot of powerful moments like this!” the museum said in the caption on their page.
Grandmother Tracy told WUSA9 that her granddaughter doesn’t know who Harriet Tubman is yet, but she, herself, was inspired by the reaction. She added, “Any exposure to art is extremely important.”