On this day in 1978, celebrated freedom fighter and abolitionist Harriet Tubman received a history-making honor from the United States Postal Service. The USPS issued a stamp with Tubman’s likeness, making her the first Black woman to receive the honor.
The stamp was part of the USPS’ Black Heritage stamp line, which is ongoing to this day. Tubman was the first honoree, with a stamp worth 13 cents in 1978 that was re-issued again in 1995 at 32 cents.
As notable as the achievement was, Tubman was not the first Black person to have a stamp featuring them. Booker T. Washington, the famed educator and author of the “Atlanta Compromise,” was the first Black person to be given a stamp back in 1940.
In the 38 years since Tubman’s initial stamp, several women have been given the honor as well.
Maya Angelou, Mary McLeod Bethune, Sojourner Truth, Ida B. Wells, Madame C.J. Walker and several others also have stamps.
Tubman might be the best known “conductor” of the Underground Railroad. As an escaped slave, Tubman risked her life to liberate the enslaved and aid them on a path to freedom. The Railroad was a secret network of abolitionists both Black and white who worked in tandem to help slaves escape.
The most recent Black Heritage stamp issued last year featured the likeness of pioneering Black architect, Robert Robinson Taylor.
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Little Known Black History Fact: Harriet Tubman Stamp
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