To be immortalized on
United States postal stamps, not only does one have to be reasonably significant in the nation’s history or culture, but one also has to be dead. Most foreign countries do not have such strict guidelines. Charles Johnson and five other living black authors, as well as six deceased black American writers have been honoured on a series of
postage stamps from the African nations of Ghana and Uganda. The
stamps were officially released in 1990.
Johnson, who won the National Book Award for his novel Middle Passage, gives credit to Ethelbert Miller, a poet, essayist and self-described “literary activist” who conceived the idea during a cultural exchange tour sponsored by the US Information Agency. He read an article about an American firm which contracts to produce
postage stamps for foreign countries, mostly small or developing nations. The company’s work features the obligatory gallery of heroes, flags, presidents and dictators but sometimes uses pop culture and newsmakers to carry their name to the rest of the world.
Miller wondered if it was possible to have African- American writers appear on
stamps. Arriving home to the United States, he wrote to the company – the New York based Inter-Government Philatelic Corp. (IGPC) – and proposed a series of
postage stamps. On approval, he contacted living authors and the heirs of deceased writers, seeking permission and cooperation. This lengthy, complicated process eventually resulted in agreements with a dozen authors or author’s estates.
Along with Johnson, the other living honorees included Pulitzer Prize winning poet, Rita Dove, a former US poet laureate and Maya Angelou, a recognized memoirist and poet. Mari Evans, a college teacher who has published numerous articles, theatre pieces and children’s literature and poetry and Henry Louis Gates Jr, a Harvard scholar and director of the Du Bois Institute for Afro-American Research joined the list. The final living representative was June Jordan writer of the lyrics for the opera “I was looking at the Ceiling and then saw the Sky’.
The colourful, realistic portraits were reproduced from oil paintings and the final images were approved by the authors or their heirs. Besides honouring the authors of African ancestry, Miller’s goal for the stamp series included supporting literacy programs in Ghana and Uganda – and the US as well. The two African nations used the revenue raised by the postage stamps to fund independent literacy efforts in their small nations.
Why would small African nations want to feature American writers? Quite simply: American images sell! Not only are limited edition
stamps a source of revenue for small nations but they also create name recognition in a global audience. Stamps are goodwill ambassadors which reach the farthest points of the world. They create publicity in that
stamp collectors throughout the world identify the nation involved.
This series is an international showcase which promotes African-American writers by way of their ancestral continent.
Please visit our online shop for a large
stamp collection to purchase.
