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Dorothy Height Becomes 15th Black Woman to Be Honored With U.S. Postage Stamp

November 29, 2016 in In the News 352 0

The Civil and Women's Right Activist will be honored in 2017

Read more at EBONY http://www.ebony.com/black-history/icons_legends/dorothy-height-stamp#ixzz4RRBTRbD7

Follow us: @EbonyMag on Twitter | EbonyMag on FacebookDorothy Height spent her life fighting for racial and gender equality. But when you think of the work of leaders such as Shirley Chisholm, Amelia Boynton Robinson and Anna Julia Cooper, Height is also another trailblazer who doesn’t get enough recognition. Thankfully, the US Postal Service is taking notice.

The 40th stamp in the Black Heritage series will honor the women’s rights icon in 2017.

“Although she rarely gained the recognition granted her male contemporaries, she became one of the most influential civil rights leaders of the 20th century,” the organization said.

The stamp features artist Thomas Blackshear II’s gouache and acrylics on board portrait of Height. The painting is based on a 2009 photograph shot by Lateef Mangum, and art director Derry Noyes designed the stamp.

Dorothy I. Height, Ph.D., 10th National President (1947-1956) of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., was appointed by President Carter to the Presidential Commission on a National Agenda for the 1980s. She also served as president of the National Council of Negro Women for more than 40 years.

The US Postal Service’s Black Heritage stamp series began in 1978 with a stamp honoring Harriet Tubman and has paid tribute to African-American leaders, inventors, educators, scientists, entrepreneurs, entertainers, and athletes. Past honorees include Alvin Ailey, James Baldwin, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Malcolm X and more.