WASHINGTON — Legendary civil rights activist Rosa Parks was recognized with the U.S. Postal Service release of a new Forever Stamp in her honor during the 44th NAACP Image Awards in Los Angeles.
In a taped message — which aired live to audience members only during the Image Awards program —Deputy Postmaster General Ronald Stroman highlighted a new set of civil rights stamps — including the stamp honoring Parks. Her refusal to sit in the back of a Montgomery, AL, bus Dec. 1, 1955 ignited a movement that ultimately challenged racial segregation and inspired others to similar actions.
The Postal Service launched a new set of civil rights stamps Jan. 1 with the Emancipation Proclamation Forever Stamp, issued at The National Archives in Washington, DC. In August, the series will culminate with the dedication of a stamp recognizing the 50th anniversary of the historic March on Washington.
The new civil rights stamps focus on freedom, courage and equality. In his message, Stroman expresses how the Civil War was “a struggle for unity” that became “a fight for freedom,” as reflected with the passage of the Emancipation Proclamation. “Rosa Parks’ act of courage changed American history,” said Stroman. In referencing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech delivered during the March on Washington, Stroman reminds viewers that “the dream of equality galvanized a nation.”
The Rosa Parks Forever Stamp went on sale nationwide Feb. 4, which would have been her 100th birthday, at local Post Offices, online at usps.com/stamps or by phone at 800-STAMP24 (800-782-6724).
