2020 Marks The 100th Anniversary Of Baseball's Negro Leagues 

"The Negro Leagues operated across the country from 1920 to about 1960. Drawing some of the most remarkable athletes ever to play baseball, the league galvanized African-American communities, challenged prevailing racist notions of athletic superiority, and ultimately sparked the integration of American sports." United States Postal Service

Mathew Henson was an Arctic explorer who in 1909, with Robert Peary, became the first people to reach the North Pole. This stamp was issued on May 28, 1986.

Click on images with a blue line border to enlarge.

Two First Day Covers with stamp images printed on a piece of silk and glued to the envelope

Sojourner Truth Proof Card. The card is 9x6 inches. Click on the image to enlarge.

Nelson Mandela

These First Day Covers have silk cachets. The artistic design is printed on a piece of silk and glued to the envelope.

James Weldon Johnson was a civil rights activist and composer. His song, "Lift Every Voice and Sing," is considered to be the Black National Anthem.

Larry Doby, Ralph Ellison and Willie Stargell

Katherine Dunham, Barbara Jordan, Althea Gibson and Hattie McDaniel. Click on image to enlarge.

A. Phillip Randolph, Joe Louis, Billie Holiday, Booker T. Washington, George Washington Carver, Bessie Coleman, and Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable.  Who are these great African Americans? What did they contribute to American life and culture? To enlarge the image, click on it.

Miles Davis

This great jazz man was honored on a USPS stamp on June 12, 2012.

On March 29, 2016, the United States Postage Service released the Sarah Vaughn stamp. She was one of the greatest jazz singers who ever lived.

George Washington Carver and Booker T. Washington silver half dollar. This coin was minted from 1951 until 1954.

This Kwanzaa stamp was issued on October 10, 2018. Kwanzaa was created by Maulana Karenga in 1966 as a means of celebrating African American life. The celebration is held from December 26 to January 1. On each day of Kwanzaa, one of the seven principles of Kwanzaa is emphasized. The principles are as follows: Unity (Umoja), Self-Determination (Kujichagulia), Collective Work and Responsibility (Ujima), Cooperative Economics (Ujamaa), Purpose (Nia), Creativity (Kuumba), and Faith (Imani).

Poet, author, actress and civil rights activist Maya Angelou was honored on a USPS stamp on April 7, 2015.

Civil Rights activist Dorothy Height was honored on a USPS stamp on February 1, 2017. The stamp design was created by artist Thomas Blackshear II.

On April 2, 2019, the USPS issued the Marvin Gaye stamp. This great artist was one of my favorite singers. He was known as the "Prince of Soul." His "What's Going On" album, released on May 21, 1971, is historic in that it represents whats going on in the world to this day. Much credit goes to USPS art director Derry Noyes, who worked with artist Kadir Nelson to produce the art represented on this pane of stamps. Listen to it. You will not be disappointed.

On January 30, 2020, the USPS issued a stamp honoring the trailblazing journalist Gwen Ifill. She was one of the first African Americans to hold important positions in both broadcast and print journalism.