What:
The U.S. Postal Service is honoring 10 courageous men and women who helped guide enslaved people to freedom via the Underground Railroad, network of secret routes and safehouses in use before the Civil War.
The first-day-of-issue event for the Underground Railroad stamps is free and open to the public. News of the Forever stamps is being shared with the hashtag #UndergroundRailroadStamps.
Who:
The Honorable Ronald A. Stroman, member of the USPS Board of Governors and dedicating official
When:
Saturday, March 9, 2024, at 11 a.m. EST
Where:
Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center4068 Golden Hill Road
Church Creek, MD 21622
RSVP:
Attendees are encouraged to register at usps.com/undergroundrailroad.
Background:
From the time slavery was introduced to the Colonies until it was abolished in 1865, enslaved people made ceaseless efforts to escape its reach. The flight to freedom, whether by foot, horseback, carriage, wagon or boat, was difficult and exceedingly dangerous.
In name only, The Underground Railroad started as a loosely organized secret network of courageous and imaginative freedom seekers, and the brave operatives who assisted them. Over time the network coalesced into a well-organized system as it responded to the increasing numbers of freedom seekers and a corresponding rise in attempts to thwart escapes.
Most remained anonymous, but some left their mark on history, including the 10 men and women honored on these Forever stamps: Catharine Coffin, Frederick Douglass, Thomas Garrett, Laura Haviland, Lewis Hayden, Harriet Jacobs, William Lambert, the Rev. Jermain Loguen, William Still, and Harriet Tubman.