Newest Stamp In Black Heritage Series

Will Have National Unveiling Feb. 28 At PCC

The 33rd entry in the U.S. Postal Services’ Black Heritage Stamp Series will have a national unveiling at noon Monday, Feb. 28, at Pueblo Community College. The ceremony will take place in the College Center’s Barbara Fortino Room, and the public is invited.

Ruth Steele, founder and chief executive officer of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Museum in Pueblo, will emcee the program. On hand will be Edie Delatore, Human Resources director at the Pueblo U.S. Postal Service office, as well as several federal Postal Services officials from throughout the country.

PCC’s library currently has eight posters from the stamp series on display to help mark February as Black History Month. The library is located on the main floor of the Mike Davis Academic Building, and the posters will be displayed through Feb. 27.

The Black Heritage stamps represent one of the most popular of the U.S. Postal Services’ commemorative series. Harriet Tubman, Jackie Robinson, Scott Joplin, Sojourner Truth, W.E.B. Du Bois, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., Thurgood Marshall, Paul Robeson and Ella Fitzgerald are among the numerous Black Americans who have been honored.

The stamp series was launched by the USPS in 1978 to recognize the achievements of prominent African Americans. The first stamps were illustrated in color. However, beginning in 1996, with the 32¢ Ernest E. Just stamp, the designs all have been based on a monochromatic photograph as the principal design element, with subtle coloring added.

Distinguished writer Charles W. Chestnutt is the face of this year's postage stamp. Chestnutt is called America's first great Black novelist.

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