Black Mail: Leaders Leave Their Mark With Stamps

Robert Taylor is the latest to be honored by the USPS.

Harriet Tubman - Initiated in 1978, the United States Postal Service has recognized the achievements of prominent African-Americans through their Black Heritage Stamp Series. Thirty-six years later the USPS continues to highlight Black leaders with the recently announced 2014 stamp of Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman ever elected to Congress. In the following pages BET.com highlights all of the heritage stamps, starting with Harriet Tubman.The Harriet Tubman Black Heritage stamp was issued on Feb. 1, 1978, and was designed by Jerry Pickney. Tubman is most known for her work as an activist leading over 300 fugitive slaves through the Underground Railroad to Canada. (Photo: United States Postal Service)
Martin Luther King, Jr. - The Martin Luther King Jr. stamp was issued on January 13, 1970, and was designed by Jerry Pickney. King graduated from Morehouse College at age 15 and became an instrumental force in the civil rights movement throughout the 1960s. He was assassinated in 1968. (Photo: United States Postal Service)
Benjamin Banneker - The Benjamin Banneker stamp was issued on Feb. 15, 1980, and was designed by Jerry Pickney. Banneker was an esteemed astronomer, scientist and mathematician. (Photo: United States Postal Service)Whitney M. Young - The Whitney Moore Young stamp was designed by Jerry Pickney and was issued on Jan. 30, 1981, in New York. The social and civil rights advocate was appointed Dean of Atlanta University School of Social Work and in 1961 he became executive director of the National Urban League. He died in 1971 in a swimming accident. (Photo: United States Postal Service)

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Harriet Tubman - Initiated in 1978, the United States Postal Service has recognized the achievements of prominent African-Americans through their Black Heritage Stamp Series. Thirty-six years later the USPS continues to highlight Black leaders with the recently announced 2014 stamp of Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman ever elected to Congress. In the following pages BET.com highlights all of the heritage stamps, starting with Harriet Tubman.The Harriet Tubman Black Heritage stamp was issued on Feb. 1, 1978, and was designed by Jerry Pickney. Tubman is most known for her work as an activist leading over 300 fugitive slaves through the Underground Railroad to Canada. (Photo: United States Postal Service)

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