The Harriet Tubman Museum and Educational Center in Cambridge, Maryland, reported a break-in over the weekend that left one of its murals damaged. The suspect, who remains at large, entered the building just a month after it reopened to the public following a major renovation.
“It really is a violation,” said Linda Harris, the museum’s director of events and programming, in a brief call with Hyperallergic.
Situated in the abolitionist’s home county, the small, volunteer-run free museum was founded in the mid 1980s to preserve and honor Harriet Tubman’s life and legacy through exhibits, events, lectures, and guided tours of the city, which was among the first “stops” on Tubman’s Underground Railroad route to Philadelphia. The museum has been based at its current location since 1992 and has drawn wider attention in recent years thanks to local artist Michael Rosato’s “Take My Hand” (2019), an outdoor trompe l’oeil mural showing a larger-than-life Tubman stepping over a broken brick wall and extending her hand to guide viewers toward freedom.
The site suffered severe flooding last May, forcing it to close and undergo a yearlong renovation to address significant water damage. Rosato was then invited to transform the interior into an immersive pictorial experience tracing Tubman’s story, from her enslavement to her meeting with Frederick Douglas and her role in the 1863 Combahee Ferry Raid, which liberated more than 750 enslaved African Americans.
The museum announced its closure until further notice on Facebook after posting a photo of the damaged doorway, which was part of one of Michael Rosato’s murals. It later reopened to the public on Saturday, June 13, to strong support from the local community, but last weekend’s burglary quickly disrupted those celebrations. During the break-in, the museum’s back door, also part of one of Rosato’s detailed interior murals, was torn off and damaged.
Local reports suggest the intruder knew exactly where to go and headed straight for the donation box, indicating familiarity with the museum from a previous visit. Although nothing else was stolen or damaged, the museum is free to the public and depends on donations to operate. Harris told local media that the box held about $3,000 when she last emptied it, though she did not know how much was inside when it was taken.
“We just raised money to redo our museum,” she lamented to WBOC. “Now we’ve got to raise more money. So, I’m very sad. This place has been here since 1992. It’s an institution. It conveys the story of a person born here in Cambridge. And for someone to vandalize it, it’s pretty sad.” Harris said replacing the door, repairing the mural, and installing a security system with cameras will likely cost between $10,000 and $20,000 and take up to two weeks. She and the volunteer staff said digital donations can be made through the museum’s website to help fund the repairs and allow the museum to reopen for the public.
