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Black America from Civil War to Civil Rights

Black Heritage Stamp Series Origins

U.S. postage stamps were in use for nearly a century before Booker T. Washington became the first African American to appear on one. A handful of additional black history-related designs appeared between 1940 and 1978, when the U.S. Postal Service introduced the Black Heritage series. Today the Black Heritage issues are the longest-running U.S. stamp series.

5¢ Emancipation Proclamation Concept Stamp Art by Georg Olden, c. 1963

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This bold, allegorical commemorative for the hundredth anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation was the first U.S. postage stamp designed by an African American. A marginal notation indicates that the design was approved by President Kennedy.

Loan from the United States Postal Service, Postmaster General's Collection

25¢ Frederick Douglass Approved Stamp Art by Walter DuBois Richards, c. 1967

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The Douglass stamp marked the first time an African American was included in a “regular” stamp series; that is, one meant for everyday postal use. The dramatic portrait was based on a photograph approved by Douglass’s descendants.

Loan from the United States Postal Service, Postmaster General's Collection

10¢ Salem Poor Concept Stamp Art by Neil Boyle, c. 1975

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The U.S. bicentennial was the occasion for this stamp, part of a series that honored little-known figures of the American Revolution. Salem Poor was a slave who purchased his freedom and later participated in the battles at Bunker Hill, Valley Forge, and White Plains.

Loan from the United States Postal Service, Postmaster General's Collection

15¢ Martin Luther King, Jr. Approved Stamp Art by Jerry Pinkney, c. 1979

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Illustrator Jerry Pinkney’s designs for the first Black Heritage stamps set the tone for the series and were emulated by later illustrators Thomas Blackshear II and Higgins Bond. They feature a central portrait surrounded by symbolic vignettes of the subject’s primary accomplishments.

Loan from the United States Postal Service, Postmaster General's Collection

 

13¢ Harriet Tubman Die Proof, c. 1978

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Loan from the United States Postal Service, Postmaster General's Collection

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