The USPS issued a 13-cent Harriet Tubman stamp on Feb 1, 1978, launching the Black Heritage Series and making her the first African American woman on a U.S. stamp.
On February 1, 1978, the United States Postal Service issued a 13-cent postage stamp featuring Harriet Tubman, marking the inaugural release in the USPS Black Heritage Series, an ongoing commemorative stamp program honoring notable African Americans. Tubman thus became the first person featured in the series and is widely cited as the first African American woman to appear on a U.S. postage stamp.
The stamp depicted Tubman's portrait alongside imagery evoking her Underground Railroad work, symbolizing her guidance of enslaved people toward freedom. Its release came amid the growing Black History Month observances (formally recognized nationally beginning in 1976) and reflected a broader cultural movement to recognize African American historical figures in mainstream American civic life and institutions.
This stamp represented a landmark moment in federal recognition of Black history, and the Black Heritage Series it launched has continued for decades, eventually honoring dozens of African American leaders, artists, and civil rights figures. For Tubman specifically, the stamp cemented her transition from a figure primarily known within abolitionist and African American historical circles to a widely recognized national icon featured in everyday American commerce and communication. It set a precedent that would later be echoed in other honors, including a second stamp in 1995 and the 2016 announcement regarding the $20 bill.