What:

The U.S. Postal Service celebrates the trailblazing journalist Gwen Ifill who is among the first African Americans to hold prominent positions in both broadcast and print journalism.

Who:

Dr. David Hampton, Deputy Mayor of Indianapolis
Todd Hawkins, Greater Indiana District Manager
Christi Johnson-Kennedy, Postmaster, Indianapolis
Steve Jefferson, WTHR 13, Channel 13
Jessica Garcia, U.S. Representative Andre Carson’s office
William Blakely, studying sports journalism at Butler University
Ebony Chappel, Radio One

Beairshelle Edmé, FOX 59 will MC the event.

When:

Friday, Feb. 28, 2020, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Where:

Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center
450 West Ohio Street
Indianapolis, IN 46202

The Indiana Historical Society has agreed to free parking and free admission to visit the museum after the program.

Stamps and postal products will be available for purchase at the event.

NOTE: This ceremony is free and open to the public.

Background:

The stamp, the 43rd entry in the Black Heritage series, calls attention to Ifill’s groundbreaking career.

After graduating from college in 1977, Ifill’s first job as a journalist was at The Boston Herald American. She later worked at the Baltimore Evening Sun, The Washington Post and The New York Times.

In 1994, Ifill moved to NBC, where she covered politics in the Washington bureau. Five years later she joined PBS as senior political correspondent for “The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer” and moderator and managing editor of “Washington Weekly,” becoming the first woman and first African American to moderate a major television news-analysis show. In 2004, she became the first African American female journalist to moderate a vice-presidential debate. She also moderated the 2008 vice-presidential debate. In 2013, Ifill became part of the first all-female team to anchor a daily national broadcast news show. “PBS NewsHour.” She died in 2016.

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