Black Historian Calls U.S. Stamp Choices 'Damaging' During National Stamp Convention

Black Historian Calls U.S. Stamp Choices 'Damaging' During National Stamp Convention

NEW YORK, May 31 /PRNewswire/ -- With thousands of stamp collectors arriving in the U.S. for the World Philatelic Exhibition at the Washington Convention Center, the prominent black historian-author, Lawrence Otis Graham, says U.S. stamps ignore black achievements in politics, and that the Postal Service should correct its historical failure to place black elected officials on postage stamps during its 159 years of issuing commemorative stamps. He says the omission of black politicians should be fixed immediately by creating a stamp honoring a figure like U.S. Senator Blanche Bruce, the first African American to serve a full-term in the Senate.

"It's an insult to African Americans when our nation creates stamps to honor numerous white male Senators, Congressmen, and Governors, including even one who represented the Confederacy -- but doesn't honor black officials who have held similar elected positions," says Graham, who is nationally-known for exposing racism and anti-Semitism when he left his law firm several years ago and went undercover as a busboy at an all-white Connecticut country club.

"The post office has paid tribute to white males in these jobs and quite appropriately created stamps to honor the first woman Senator (Hattie Caraway), as well as Hispanic American Senator Dennis Chavez," says Graham, who spent six years writing the new book, The Senator and The Socialite: The True Story of America's First Black Dynasty (HarperCollins) about black slave-turned-Senator Blanche Bruce. "But as stamp collectors gather from around the world this week, we should ask why our nation has created stamps honoring artistic African Americans like singer Otis Redding, boxer Sugar Ray Robinson, and "Gone With the Wind" Mammy actress Hattie McDaniel, but withheld the same honor for blacks who served in distinguished elected offices. While these artists are deserving figures, the black stereotype being advanced by the omission of elected officials and emphasis on athletes and singers misrepresents our community."

In addition to contacting the Postal Service, Graham is asking Senators in every state to support his proposal to create a Senator Bruce stamp. "I'm writing to all 100 Senators because I hope some will recognize it was a historical oversight to ignore the contributions of African Americans who have been elected to important political offices."

Bruce represented Mississippi for six years in the Senate, after being elected in 1874. Born a slave in 1841, he rose through the Republican Party during Reconstruction. He later held high-ranking posts under four Presidents (Garfield, Arthur, Harrison, McKinley), including the job of Register of the Treasury, which placed his signature on U.S. currency.

About Lawrence Otis Graham -- A graduate of Princeton and Harvard Law School, Graham has written 14 books including the New York Times bestseller, Our Kind of People: Inside America's Black Upper Class, and the new biography of Blanche Bruce, The Senator and The Socialite. He has taught African American Studies and American Government. He lives in Chappaqua, New York. www.lawrenceotisgraham.com

Source: Lawrence Otis Graham

CONTACT: Lawrence Otis Graham, +1-914-238-4000

Web site: http://www.lawrenceotisgraham.com/

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