According to the Baltimore Sun, President Obama will honor Harriet Tubman with a national monument in her home state of Maryland. After escaping the Dorchester County, MD plantation she escaped in 1849, Tubman began risking her life guiding slaves to freedom.
Mr. Obama's proclamation sets aside the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Monument near the city of Cambridge on Maryland's Eastern Shore as a historical preservation site to be administered by the National Park Service. It will be the first such monument ever to commemorate an African-American woman.
However, some have taken umbridge with the use of federal funds on monuments. Especially because Tubman's monument and visitors center will cost $21 million. However, those arguments ignore the revenue Tubman's monument will bring in long-term as well as the symbolism of Tubman in American history. Plus, it reflects badly on the priorities of a nation that honors Elvis' home as an attraction over that of an early American hero.