What:

The City of Madison and the United States Postal Service will participate in a Stamp Dedication Ceremony of Constance Baker Motley in Celebration of Black History Month.

Who:

Jeff Drake, Wisconsin District Manager, USPS
Norman Davis, Director of Civil Rights, City of Madison
Chad Way, Acting Postmaster, Madison, WI, USPS 

When:

Thursday, February 29, 2024, at 6 pm CDT

Where:

Monona Terrace Lecture Hall.
1 John Nolen Dr
Madison, WI, 53703

Background:

Constance Baker Motley, the first Black woman to argue before the Supreme Court, achieved another milestone in 1966 as the first Black woman to serve as a federal judge. Graduating from Columbia Law School in 1946, she joined the NAACP's legal team, led by Thurgood Marshall, tackling landmark cases in desegregation. Motley personally argued 10 Supreme Court cases and assisted in nearly 60 others, winning the majority. Alongside her desegregation work, she occasionally represented Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In 1965, Motley transitioned into politics, becoming the first African American woman in the New York State Senate and later Manhattan Borough president. President Johnson appointed her to the Southern District of New York in 1966. In 2024, the U.S. Postal Service honored Motley's legacy as a civil rights pioneer and judicial trailblazer with a Black Heritage stamp.

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