Indianapolis, IN — As part of Black History Month 2015, the U.S. Postal Service will recognize the life and legacy of 38th Black Heritage Stamp honoree Robert Robinson Taylor at the Madam Walker Theatre in Indianapolis on February 26, 2015 from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.

Joining Indianapolis Postmaster Gary Soultz and other postal executives at the event will be Indianapolis Mayor Gregory A. Ballard, Olon Dotson, Associate Professor, Ball State University College of Architecture and Planning, Yalonda McTush, Center of Leadership Development and Dr. Kathleen Spears, president and CEO, Madam Walker Theatre. Also taking part in the celebration will be 5th grade Rachel Schmidt, Rosa Parks-Edison Elementary School reading her poem “A Living Dream” in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and The Singing Rockets, also from Rosa Parks under the direction of Paula Goodnight.

RR Taylor is believed to have been both the first African-American graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the nation’s first academically-trained black architect. For more than three decades, Taylor (1868–1942) supervised the design and construction of the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama while also overseeing the school’s programs in industrial education and the building trades. Taylor was recently inducted into the Postal Service’s Black Heritage Stamp series at the National Postal Museum in Washington, DC. His great granddaughter, White House Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett joined Postmaster General Megan Brennan in dedicating the stamp.

“Robert Robinson Taylor expanded opportunities for African-Americans in fields that had largely been closed to them,” said Brennan, who earned her MBA from MIT. “Booker T. Washington recruited Taylor to the Tuskegee Institute to help show the world what an all-black institution could accomplish. Taylor designed and oversaw the construction of dozens of new buildings, but it was Tuskegee’s Chapel that Taylor considered to be his finest achievement and masterpiece. As one of our nation’s calling cards, we hope this stamp will encourage more Americans to learn more about Robert Robinson Taylor’s life and career,” she said.

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