Since their time as queens in Africa and slaves in America and other areas around the world, Black women have survived, and they have played a pivotal role in the shaping of our nation.  In slavery and in freedom, Black women’s struggles have been at the heart of the human experience. Their contributions include being abolitionists, fighting for our freedom, becoming astronauts, writers, poets, civil rights activists, inventors, business owners, educators, politicians, lawyers, scientists, and doctors. The United States Postal Service has been honoring African-American women since 1978 with the issuance of the Harriet Tubman stamp, the first stamp in the Black Heritage Series.