JAKARTA - On February 1, 1978, for the first time, the figure of an African-American woman appeared on United States (US) postage stamps. Not just an affix on a letter envelope, the figure of Harriet Tubman who is used as a postage stamp is a symbol that his contribution to the eradication of slavery has been recognized by history.
Harriet Tubman is the lone figure of the slavery abolition movement. Tubman herself was a slave who escaped detention in Maryland and made at least 19 trips to free many slaves.
From an early age, Tubman was subjected to the beatings and abuse that was common in many slave-owned homes. His weak and small body made Tubman's health deteriorate even further. This reduced Tubman's ability to the owner and limited her prospects for employment.
When he was a teenager, Tubman was seriously injured when his employer tried to stop another slave's escape attempt. The employer threw a large object which hit Tubman. Tubman was given little medical care and returned to work.
However, Tubman never recovered due to damage to his brain and skull. He suffered periodic seizures that researchers believe may be epilepsy. In September 1849, Tubman's employers attempted to sell him. Tubman and her two brothers then tried to escape, although they were unsuccessful. For reasons still unknown, the siblings decide to return, forcing Tubman to return with them.
Another escape
A few months later, Tubman tried to escape again, this time he decided to go alone. Tubman left her husband and family behind when she fled north via Delaware and Pennsylvania.
He made regular stops at a series of hideouts along the Underground Railroad site, before settling in Philadelphia. In late 1850, after hearing that one of his nephews was going to be sold, Tubman returned to the south. He embarks on the first mission to help other slaves escape.
Launching History, Saturday February 1, Tubman is thought to have helped several hundred slaves escape and helped them find freedom in Canada. During the US Civil War, Tubman also managed to free 700 slaves when he led troops in an attack on Combahee Ferry, South Carolina.
Although Tubman had limited money, he tried to accommodate and feed the poor. Tubman has also become an important figure in the struggle for women's suffrage. Despite these extraordinary efforts, Tubman received no pension funds for his services in the war. In 1889, Tubman died without many people knowing his services.
After the African-American civil rights movement, however, there was a push to identify neglected black figures such as Tubman. Tubman's merits put him on a par with other African-American figures such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Booker T. Washington, and Jackie Robinson.
In 2016, after years of pressure from activists, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew announced that Tubman's face would replace the face of President Andrew Jackson who was on the twenty-dollar bill. The following year, however, the Donald Trump administration's Secretary of Finance, Steve Mnuchin, scrapped the idea.
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