To obtain high-resolution images of the stamps for news media use only, email mark.r.saunders@usps.gov

WASHINGTON — The Postal Service continues its sneak peek at some of its 2012 stamps, using social media outlets today to preview the 2012 Black Heritage Stamp honoring legendary publisher John H. Johnson. Using social media to reach broader, more diverse audiences is an initiative that began Monday. Select stamps from the 2012 commemorative program will continue to be previewed one at a time.

Customers may preview the stamps on Facebook at facebook.com/USPSStamps, through Twitter @USPSstamps or on the website Beyond the Perf at www.beyondtheperf.com/2012-preview. Beyond the Perf is the Postal Service’s online site for the back story on upcoming stamp subjects, first-day-of-issue events and other philatelic news.

John H. Johnson Forever Stamp
“We are proud to immortalize John H. Johnson as our latest inductee in our Black Heritage stamp series,” said Stephen Kearney, manager, Stamp Services. “He was the trailblazing publisher of Ebony, Jet and other magazines as well as an entrepreneur. In 1982, he became the first black person to appear on Forbes magazine’s annual list of the 400 wealthiest people in America. His magazines portrayed black people positively at a time when such representation was rare, and he played an important role in the civil rights movement. President Clinton awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1996.”

The stamp, designed by art director Howard Paine, features a color photograph of John H. Johnson taken by Bachrach Studios. The photographer was David McCann.

The Postal Service has recognized the achievements of prominent African Americans through the Black Heritage series since 1978. The series highlights outstanding individuals who helped shape American culture.

Other 2012 Forever stamps previewed this week were the 2012 Cherry Blossoms Centennial, the Edgar Rice Burroughs and Love Ribbons stamps.

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

We’re everywhere so you can be anywhere: www.uspseverywhere.com

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A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 150 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes. The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. We’re everywhere so you can be anywhere: www.uspseverywhere.com. With 32,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, usps.com, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $67 billion and delivers nearly 40 percent of the world’s mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 29th in the 2010 Fortune 500. Black Enterprise and Hispanic Business magazines ranked the Postal Service as a leader in workforce diversity. The Postal Service has been named the Most Trusted Government Agency six consecutive years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute.