15¢ Martin Luther King, Jr. Approved Stamp Art by Jerry Pinkney, c. 1979
Loan from the United States Postal Service, Postmaster General's Collection to the Smithsonian Institute’s Postal Museum
The Postal Service observes the Martin Luther King Day federal holiday on Monday, January 16, 2017. Post offices are closed and there is limited delivery of some package products, including Priority Mail Express.
Post Offices reopen with regular mail delivery, collections, and retail services on Tuesday.
FUN FACT: How many times has Martin Luther King been featured on US postage?
A: In 2005, the 10-stamp series “To Form A More Perfect Union” highlighted such events as the 1963 March on Washington and 1965 Selma March. The sheet featured Dr. King’s picture in the center, as part of the selvage, but his image was not actual postage.
A 1999 stamp, then 33 cents, highlighted Dr. King as he presented “I Have A Dream” speech as part of the Celebrate the Century series of stamps featuring landmark events of the 1960s.
On January 13, 1979, Dr. King was honored on the second in the Black Heritage Series of stamps issued by the Postal Service. That stamp was 15 cents. 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.
Blackshear is again at the easel with his work on the 40th stamp in the Postal Service’s Black Heritage series which honors Dorothy Height (1912–2010), the tireless activist who dedicated her life to fighting for racial and gender equality.
Although she rarely gained the recognition granted her male contemporaries, she became one of the most influential civil rights leaders of the 20th century.
The stamp features Blackshear’s gouache and acrylics on board portrait of Height. The painting is based on a photograph shot by Lateef Mangum in 2009.
Height was the 10th National President (1947-1956) of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and was appointed by President Carter to the Presidential Commission on a National Agenda during the 1980’s. She also served as president of the National Council of Negro Women for more than 40 years.
Her new stamp becomes available at post offices on February 1st.
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