Pioneering woman joins popular Black Heritage Stamp Series
NEW YORK — The U.S. Postal Service paid tribute to pioneering Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm with the issuance of a limited-edition 37th Black Heritage Forever Stamp during a special ceremony at Brooklyn Borough Hall in Brooklyn, NY.
The Shirley Chisholm Black Heritage Forever Stamp is now on sale in post offices nationwide and online at usps.com/stamps,
“Shirley Chisholm was a courageous and pioneering woman whose legacy lives on with the issuance of this special stamp,” said Deputy Postmaster General Ronald Stroman. “We are proud to honor this great American who shattered barriers of race and gender. Shirley Chisholm fought for the rights of women and the poor as a true champion for justice and equality for all.”
Joining Stroman to dedicate the stamp were several dignitaries including former U.S. Ambassador Andrew Young and many other federal, state and local officials. A tribute video was shown during the ceremony, featuring quotes from Ambassador Young and others who knew and worked with Chisholm, and were influenced by her contributions to America.
The Shirley Chisholm stamp was designed by art director Ethel Kessler and features a color portrait of Chisholm by artist Robert Shetterly. Painted in acrylic on wood, the portrait is one of a series of paintings by Shetterly titled “Americans Who Tell the Truth.”
Chisholm joins several of the nation’s leading African-American educators, entertainers, civil rights activists, politicians, scholars, athletes, and business pioneers featured in the Black Heritage stamp series. Launched in 1978 with the issuance of the Harriet Tubman stamp, the series includes stamps honoring Sojourner Truth, Paul Robeson, W.E.B. Du Bois, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Roy Wilkins, Thurgood Marshall, Jackie Robinson, Madam C.J. Walker, Ella Fitzgerald, Marian Anderson, Barbara Jordan, Langston Hughes, Mary McLeod Bethune, John Johnson, and Althea Gibson.
