Harriet Tubman helped without hesitation. Here's a unique opportunity to return the favor.

Erin Canty
03.24.17

"Young, strong, vibrant, unadorned, and beautiful."

These are just a few of the words Karen Hill used to describe Harriet Tubman in this rare photograph, presumed to be taken shortly after the Civil War in Tubman's adopted hometown of Auburn, New York.

A previously unrecorded photograph of Harriet Tubman. Image via the Swann Gallery.

Tubman rarely sat for photographs, as her life's work required her to hide from bounty hunters and others wishing to do her and the movement harm. As such, very few images of her exist, especially from her younger years. This image of Tubman, likely in her mid- to late-40s, was previously unrecorded ... until now.

The photo is just one part of a lot heading to auction March 30, 2017. Hill, the president and CEO of the Harriet Tubman Home, wants the picture back where it belongs.

The rare photograph was found in a centuries-old carte de visite album belonging to Emily Howland, an educator and abolitionist.

Carte de visites are small images (around 2" x 3.5") mounted on thick paper. Because of their small size, they were often traded among friends and visitors.

Howland's album also includes 44 other photographs that appear to be in good condition, including the only known portrait of John Willis Menard, the first black man elected to the House of Representatives (although his opponent's opposition to the election prevented Menard from being seated).

On the right, Howland's carte de visite album. On the left, an album page featuring John Willis Menard. Images via the Swann Gallery.

Given the truly exceptional images and their condition, the lot is estimated to sell for $25,000 to $30,000.

Private collectors will jump at the chance to own such a rare piece of history, but there's only one place a piece like this belongs: the Harriet Tubman Home.

In 1859, Harriet Tubman purchased a piece of land outside Auburn, New York, a community known for progressive thought and abolition. Tubman and the family members she emancipated made their home there, and the Auburn land became a true safe haven. In early 1903, despite financial trouble, Tubman donated some of her land to the African Methodist Episcopal Church, who used it to found the Harriet Tubman Home for the Aged.

The Harriet Tubman Home for the Aged. Photo by Lvklock/Wikimedia Commons.

Today, through a nonprofit group, the AME Zion Church keeps Tubman's spirit of determination and ingenuity alive through the management of the Harriet Tubman Home. Visitors can take a guided tour of Tubman's Home for the Aged, see the exterior of her personal home, your the 32-acre homestead, and see up to 60,000 artifacts representing her life and mission. Congress even made the property and land a National Historical Park in 2014.

To preserve Tubman's legacy and ensure the photo is available to the public, the Harriet Tubman Home is raising money to #BringHarrietHome.

The Harriet Tubman Home launched a fundraising campaign to raise a minimum of $25,000 in order to be competitive bidders at the upcoming auction. With 13 days to go as of this writing, the group has raised around $21,000.

"While we can appreciate that the finder’s compensation for discovering and sharing this photo of Harriet Tubman is warranted, we are resolute in our belief that there is no dollar amount that can match the incalculable value that will come from having it properly preserved in our archives at her home in Auburn," read the group's Women You Should Fund page.

Harriet Tubman via the Swann Gallery.

Should the Harriet Tubman Home be outbid, donors can rescind their contribution or donate to the Harriet Tubman Home to fund volunteer training and restoration efforts to the home.

The residence Tubman shared with her husband, Nelson Davis. Davis laid the bricks himself, but they're in desperate need of restoration. Image via Women You Should Know/YouTube.

This is your chance to say thank you.

Harriet Tubman dedicated her life to selfless service — guiding slaves to freedom, working as a spy, cook, and nurse and armed scout for the Union, then donating her land to the church to help the elderly. She did all of this not for praise or acclaim, but because she knew in her heart it was right.

This is right too.

As painful as it is to think of Harriet Tubman on the auction block more than 100 years after her death, we can each do our part to help preserve this piece of her legacy for generations to come. This is a rescue mission. It's time to return the favor.

Watch the powerful video from the Harriet Tubman Home and donate or share to #BringHarrietHome.

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Florida city forecloses on man's home after fining him $30,000 for not mowing his lawn.

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Should a man lose his home because the grass in his yard grew higher than 10 inches? The city of Dunedin, Florida seems to think so.

According to the Institute of Justice, which is representing Jim Ficken, he had a very good reason for not mowing his lawn – and tried to rectify the situation as best he could.

In 2014, Jim's mom became ill and he visited her often in South Carolina to help her out. When he was away, his grass grew too long and he was cited by a code office; he cut the grass and wasn't fined.

France has started forcing supermarkets to donate food instead of throwing it away.

But several years later, this one infraction would come back to haunt him after he left to take care of him's mom's affairs after she died. The arrangements he made to have his grass cut fell through (his friend who he asked to help him out passed away unexpectedly) and that set off a chain reaction that may result in him losing his home.

The 69-year-old retiree now faces a $29,833.50 fine plus interest. Watch the video to find out just what Jim is having to deal with.

Mow Your Lawn or Lose Your House! www.youtube.com

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Michelle Obama named 'most admired woman in the world,' because of course she is.

The world can't get enough Michelle.

Jimmy Kimmel Live/YouTube

The world officially loves Michelle Obama.

The former first lady has overtaken the number one spot in a poll of the world's most admired women. Conducted by online research firm YouGov, the study uses international polling tools to survey people in countries around the world about who they most admire.

In the men's category, Bill Gates took the top spot, followed by Barack Obama and Jackie Chan.

In the women's category, Michelle Obama came first, followed by Oprah Winfrey and Angelina Jolie. Obama pushed Jolie out of the number one spot she claimed last year.

Unsurprising, really, because what's not to love about Michelle Obama? She is smart, kind, funny, accomplished, a great dancer, a devoted wife and mother, and an all-around, genuinely good person.

She has remained dignified and strong in the face of rabid masses of so-called Americans who spent eight years and beyond insisting that she's a man disguised as a woman. She's endured non-stop racist memes and terrifying threats to her family. She has received far more than her fair share of cruelty, and always takes the high road. She's the one who coined, "When they go low, we go high," after all.

She came from humble beginnings and remains down to earth despite becoming a familiar face around the world. She's not much older than me, but I still want to be like Michelle Obama when I grow up.

Her memoir, Becoming, may end up being the best-selling memoir of all time, having already sold 10 million copies—a clear sign that people can't get enough Michelle, because there's no such thing as too much Michelle.

Don't like Michelle Obama? Don't care. Those of us who love her will fly our MO flags high and without apology, paying no mind to folks with cold, dead hearts who don't know a gem of a human being when they see one. There is nothing any hater can say or do to make us admire this undeniably admirable woman any less.

When it seems like the world has lost its mind—which is how it feels most days these days—I'm just going to keep coming back to this study as evidence that hope for humanity is not lost.

Here. Enjoy some real-life Michelle on Jimmy Kimmel. (GAH. WHY IS SHE SO CUTE AND AWESOME. I can't even handle it.)

Michelle & Barack Obama are Boring Now www.youtube.com

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France has started forcing supermarkets to donate food instead of throwing it away.

via EarthFix / Flickr

What will future generations never believe that we tolerated in 2019?

Dolphin and orca captivity, for sure. They'll probably shake their heads at how people died because they couldn't afford healthcare. And, they'll be completely mystified at the amount of food some people waste while others go starving.

According to Biological Diversity, "An estimated 40 percent of the food produced in the United States is wasted every year, costing households, businesses and farms about $218 billion annually."

There are so many things wrong with this.

First of all it's a waste of money for the households who throw out good food. Second, it's a waste of all of the resources that went into growing the food, including the animals who gave their lives for the meal. Third, there's something very wrong with throwing out food when one in eight Americans struggle with hunger.

Supermarkets are just as guilty of this unnecessary waste as consumers. About 10% of all food waste are supermarket products thrown out before they've reached their expiration date.

Three years ago, France took big steps to combat food waste by making a law that bans grocery stores from throwing away edible food.According to the new ordinance, stores can be fined for up to $4,500 for each infraction.

Previously, the French threw out 7.1 million tons of food. Sixty-seven percent of which was tossed by consumers, 15% by restaurants, and 11% by grocery stores.

This has created a network of over 5,000 charities that accept the food from supermarkets and donate them to charity. The law also struck down agreements between supermarkets and manufacturers that prohibited the stores from donating food to charities.

"There was one food manufacturer that was not authorized to donate the sandwiches it made for a particular supermarket brand. But now, we get 30,000 sandwiches a month from them — sandwiches that used to be thrown away," Jacques Bailet, head of the French network of food banks known as Banques Alimentaires, told NPR.

It's expected that similar laws may spread through Europe, but people are a lot less confident at it happening in the United States. The USDA believes that the biggest barrier to such a program would be cost to the charities and or supermarkets.

"The logistics of getting safe, wholesome, edible food from anywhere to people that can use it is really difficult," the organization said according to Gizmodo. "If you're having to set up a really expensive system to recover marginal amounts of food, that's not good for anybody."

Plus, the idea may seem a little too "socialist" for the average American's appetite.

"The French version is quite socialist, but I would say in a great way because you're providing a way where they [supermarkets] have to do the beneficial things not only for the environment, but from an ethical standpoint of getting healthy food to those who need it and minimizing some of the harmful greenhouse gas emissions that come when food ends up in a landfill," Jonathan Bloom, the author of American Wasteland, told NPR.

However, just because something may be socialist doesn't mean it's wrong. The greater wrong is the insane waste of money, damage to the environment, and devastation caused by hunger that can easily be avoided.

Planet

Single dad asks his daughters for fashion advice before a date and strangers on social media responded with some helpful suggestions.

The world is dark and full of terrors, but every once in a while it graces us with something to warm our icy-cold hearts. And that is what we have today, with a single dad who went viral on Twitter after his daughter posted the photos he sent her when trying to pick out and outfit for his date. You love to see it.




After seeing these heartwarming pics, people on Twitter started suggesting this adorable man date their moms. It was essentially a mom and date matchmaking frenzy.

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