February 1, 1978: Antislavery crusader and Civil War veteran
Harriet Tubman become the first African American woman to
appear on a U.S. postage stamp, the first in the Post Office’s
Black Heritage Series. Tubman’s appearance on stamps was
emblematic both of the progress made in recognizing African
Americans’ contributions to American history and of the
ongoing effort to put abolitionists on equal footing with
slaveowners in the nation’s historical canon.

Harriet Tubman
(born Araminta Ross, c.
(March 1822 – March 10, 1913)