Mikulski To Receive Harriet Ross Tubman Award

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) -- The Maryland African American Tourism Council plans to honor U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski with the 2012 Harriet Ross Tubman Lifetime Achievement Award.

Mikulski, the first non-African American award winner, will be honored at a Friday morning ceremony in Annapolis.

The senator supported legislation to establish the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Historical Park in Dorchester County.

Mikulski, a Democrat, is recognized for securing nearly $1 million in federal funds to create the park.

The legislation she supported also establishes the Harriet Tubman National Historical Park in Auburn, N.Y.

The award will be presented by Democrats Gov. Martin O'Malley, U.S. Sen. Benjamin Cardin and African American Tourism Council president Louis Fields, who will be joined by Ross-Tubman family descendants.

Friday is also the Harriet Ross Tubman Day of Remembrance in Maryland.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)