Rep. Barbara Jordan - 2011 "Black Heritage" Stamp Honoree

"Each year, professional stamp collectors, philatelic experts, and stamp enthusiasts anticipate the unveiling of the newest edition to the Black Heritage series. This year, Barbara Jordan, a former Texas congresswoman who died of complications related to leukemia in 1996, will succeed late film director Oscar Micheaux—the 2010 nominee," writes Benjamin Koconis of the Washington Informer.

He goes on to pen, "The Barbara Jordan stamp, which will go on sale in September of 2011, was created by award-winning artist Albert Slark of Ajax, Ontario, Canada. Each Black Heritage stamp is unique, and the Jordan stamp is no exception. Slark created the image for the stamp by first painting Jordan’s portrait with oil paints using an undated black-and-white photograph for reference. It was then scaled down to size in order to fit the stamp template."

Roy Betts, manager of Community Relations at the U.S. Postal Service in Washington, D.C. is quoted as saying, "Any professional artist can submit a graphic concept for commemorative stamp art...the U.S. Postal Service works almost exclusively with a very select stable of designers who have experience producing art work that will reproduce well at such a small scale."

According to the article, "Despite the fact that the first official Black Heritage stamp was not issued until 1978, more than 100 African Americans have been represented on stamps dating back more than 70 years. The 'A ' list includes Booker T. Washington, Frederick Douglass, Salem Poor, and Louis Armstrong—to name a few."

Shown above, Barbara Jordan stamp design. Ms. Jordan was the first elected black woman to the U.S. House of Representatives.

To read the entire piece, click here.