African-American Subjects on United States Postage Stamps

Die proof of ten-cent Booker T. Washington stamp, the first U.S. postage stamp to honor an African American.

Beginning in 1940 with a ten-cent stamp honoring Booker T. Washington, the United States Post Office Department began issuing stamps to commemorate the contributions of African Americans.  A list of these stamps, their denomination, and their dates of issue follows.  Stamps on which African Americans are part of a mixed scene – for example, the 15-cent "International Year of the Child" issued in 1979 and the 22-cent "Help End Hunger" stamp issued in 1985 – are not included.

The Postal Service Guide to U.S. Stamps lists all U.S. postage stamps and other useful information, including illustrations.  You can find the Guide in bookstores and Post Offices, or you can order a copy by calling 1-800-STAMP-24 or from the Postal Store at www.usps.com.
 
              Subject	  Denomination   Date Issued

Booker T. Washington	10¢	April 7, 1940	
13th Amendment	 3¢	October 20, 1940	
Dr. George Washington Carver	 3¢	January 5, 1948	
Centennial of Booker T. Washington 	 3¢	April 5, 1956	
Emancipation Proclamation	 5¢	August 16, 1963	
Frederick Douglass	25¢	February 4, 1967	
W. C. Handy	 6¢	May 17, 1969	
Henry Ossawa Tanner	 8¢	September 10, 1973	
Paul Laurence Dunbar	10¢	May 1, 1975	
Salem Poor	10¢	March 25, 1975	
Black Heritage: Harriet Tubman	13¢	February 1, 1978	
Black Heritage: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.	15¢	January 13, 1979	
Black Heritage: Benjamin Banneker	15¢	February 15, 1980	
Black Heritage: Whitney Moore Young, Jr.	15¢	January 30, 1981	
Charles R. Drew, MD	35¢	June 3, 1981	
Ralph Bunche	20¢	January 12, 1982	
Black Heritage: Jackie Robinson	20¢	August 2, 1982	
Black Heritage: Scott Joplin	20¢	June 9, 1983	
Black Heritage: Dr. Carter G. Woodson	20¢	February 1, 1984	
Black Heritage: Mary McLeod Bethune	22¢	March 5, 1985	
Black Heritage: Sojourner Truth	22¢	February 4, 1986	
Duke Ellington	22¢	April 29, 1986	
Arctic Explorers: Matthew Henson	22¢	May 28, 1986	
Black Heritage: Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable	22¢	February 20, 1987	
Black Heritage: James Weldon Johnson	22¢	February 2, 1988	
Black Heritage: A. Philip Randolph	25¢	February 3, 1989	
Black Heritage: Ida B. Wells	25¢	February 1, 1990	
Olympians: Jesse Owens	25¢	July 6, 1990	
Black Heritage: Jan E. Matzeliger	29¢	September 15, 1991	
Black Heritage: W.E.B. DuBois	29¢	January 31, 1992	
Black Heritage: Percy Lavon Julian	29¢	January 29, 1993	
Rock & Roll / Rhythm & Blues: Clyde McPhatter	29¢	June 16, 1993	
Rock & Roll / Rhythm & Blues: Otis Redding	29¢	June 16, 1993	
Rock & Roll / Rhythm & Blues: Dinah Washington	29¢	June 16, 1993	
Joe Louis	29¢	June 22, 1993	
Broadway Musicals: Porgy & Bess	29¢	July 14, 1993	
Black Heritage: Dr. Allison Davis	29¢	February 1, 1994	
Buffalo Soldiers	29¢	April 22, 1994	
Popular Singers: Nat 'King' Cole	29¢	September 1, 1994	
Popular Singers: Ethel Waters	29¢	September 1, 1994	
Jazz and Blues Singers: Mildred Bailey	29¢	September 17, 1994	
Jazz and Blues Singers: Billie Holiday	29¢	September 17, 1994	
Jazz and Blues Singers: Robert Johnson	29¢	September 17, 1994	
Jazz and Blues Singers: 'Ma' Rainey	29¢	September 17, 1994	
Jazz and Blues Singers: Jimmy Rushing	29¢	September 17, 1994	
Jazz and Blues Singers: Bessie Smith	29¢	September 17, 1994	
Jazz and Blues Singers: Muddy Waters	29¢	September 17, 1994	
Jazz and Blues Singers: Howlin' Wolf	29¢	September 17, 1994	
Legends of the West: Jim Beckwourth	29¢	October 18, 1994	
Legends of the West: Bill Pickett	29¢	October 18, 1994	
Black Heritage: Bessie Coleman	32¢	April 27, 1995	
Civil War: Frederick Douglass	32¢	June 29, 1995	
Civil War: Harriet Tubman	32¢	June 29, 1995	
Jazz Musicians: Louis Armstrong *	32¢	September 16, 1995	
Jazz Musicians: Eubie Blake	32¢	September 16, 1995	
Jazz Musicians: John Coltrane	32¢	September 16, 1995	
Jazz Musicians: Erroll Garner	32¢	September 16, 1995	
Jazz Musicians: Coleman Hawkins	32¢	September 16, 1995	
Jazz Musicians: James P. Johnson	32¢	September 16, 1995	
Jazz Musicians: Charlie Parker	32¢	September 16, 1995	
Jazz Musicians: Charles Mingus	32¢	September 16, 1995	
Jazz Musicians: Thelonious Monk	32¢	September 16, 1995	
Jazz Musicians: 'Jelly Roll' Morton	32¢	September 16, 1995	
Black Heritage: Ernest E. Just	32¢	February 1, 1996	
Folk Heroes: John Henry	32¢	July 11, 1996	
Big Band Leaders: Count Basie	32¢	September 11, 1996	
Black Heritage: Benjamin O. Davis, Sr.	32¢	January 28, 1997	
Kwanzaa	32¢	October 22, 1997	
Black Heritage: Madam C. J. Walker	32¢	January 28, 1998	
Folk Musicians: Leadbelly	32¢	June 26, 1998	
Folk Musicians: Sonny Terry	32¢	June 26, 1998	
Folk Musicians: Josh White	32¢	June 26, 1998	
Gospel Singers: Mahalia Jackson	32¢	July 15, 1998	
Gospel Singers: Roberta Martin	32¢	July 15, 1998	
Gospel Singers: Sister Rosetta	32¢	July 15, 1998	
Gospel Singers: Clara Ward	32¢	July 15, 1998	
Celebrate the Century-1900s: W. E. B. DuBois, Social Activist	
32¢	
February 3, 1998	
Celebrate the Century-1910s: George Washington Carver	
32¢	
February 3, 1998	
Celebrate the Century-1920s: Jazz Flourishes	32¢	May 28, 1998	
Celebrate the Century-1930s: Jesse Owens	32¢	September 10, 1998	
Black Heritage: Malcolm X	33¢	January 20, 1999	
Celebrate the Century-1940s: Jackie Robinson	33¢	February 18, 1999	
Celebrate the Century-1950s: Desegregating Public Schools	
33¢	
May 26, 1999	
Celebrate the Century-1960s: "I Have A Dream"	33¢	September 17, 1999	
Celebrate the Century-1980s: "The Cosby Show"	33¢	January 12, 2000	
Celebrate the Century-1980s: Hip-hop Culture	33¢	January 12, 2000	
Black Heritage: Patricia Roberts Harris	33¢	January 27, 2000	
Legends of Baseball: Josh Gibson	33¢	July 6, 2000	
Legends of Baseball: Satchel Paige	33¢	July 6, 2000	
Legends of Baseball: Jackie Robinson	33¢	July 6, 2000	
Black Heritage: Roy Wilkins	34¢	January 24, 2001	
Holiday Celebrations: Kwanzaa	34¢	October 21, 2001	
Black Heritage: Langston Hughes	34¢	February 1, 2002	
Masters of American Photography: James VanDerZee	
37¢	
June 13, 2002	
Women In Journalism: Ethel L. Payne	37¢	September 14, 2002	
Holiday Celebrations: Kwanzaa	37¢	October 10, 2002	
Black Heritage: Thurgood Marshall	37¢	January 7, 2003	
Literary Arts: Zora Neale Hurston	37¢	January 24, 2003	
Black Heritage: Paul Robeson	37¢	January 20, 2004	
American Choreographers: Alvin Ailey	37¢	May 4, 2004	
Distinguished Americans: Wilma Rudolph	23¢	July 14, 2004	
Literary Arts: James Baldwin	37¢	July 23, 2004	
Holiday Celebrations: Kwanzaa	37¢	October 16, 2004	
Black Heritage: Marian Anderson	37¢	January 27, 2005	
Arthur Ashe	37¢	August 27, 2005	
To Form A More Perfect Union: Selma March 	37¢	August 30, 2005	
To Form A More Perfect Union: Montgomery Bus Boycott	
37¢ 	
August 30, 2005	
To Form A More Perfect Union: Greensboro Lunch Counter Sit In	
37¢ 	
August 30, 2005	
To Form A More Perfect Union: Freedom Riders	37¢	August 30, 2005	
To Form A More Perfect Union: Little Rock Nine	37¢	August 30, 2005	
To Form A More Perfect Union: Civil Rights Act of 1964	
37¢	
August 30, 2005	
To Form A More Perfect Union: Brown v. Board of Education	
37¢	
August 30, 2005	
To Form A More Perfect Union: Executive Order 9981	
37¢	
August 30, 2005	
To Form A More Perfect Union: March on Washington	
37¢	
August 30, 2005	
To Form A More Perfect Union: Voting Rights Act of 1965	
37¢	
August 30, 2005	
Black Heritage: Hattie McDaniel	39¢	January 25, 2006	
Sugar Ray Robinson	39¢	April 7, 2006	
Distinguished American Diplomats: Clifton R. Wharton Sr.	
39¢	
May 30, 2006	
Baseball Sluggers: Roy Campanella	39¢	July 15, 2006	
American Treasures: Gee's Bend Quilts	39¢	August 24, 2006	
Black Heritage: Ella Fitzgerald	39¢	January 10, 2007	
Black Heritage: Charles W. Chesnutt	41¢	January 31, 2008	
Vintage Black Cinema: The Sport of the Gods	42¢	July 16, 2008	
Vintage Black Cinema: Black and Tan	42¢	July 16, 2008	
Vintage Black Cinema: Princess Tam-Tam	42¢	July 16, 2008	
Vintage Black Cinema: Caldonia	42¢	July 16, 2008	
Vintage Black Cinema: Hallelujah	42¢	July 16, 2008	
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* 	A separate stamp honoring Louis Armstrong was issued in July 1995; the same stamp also was part of the Jazz Musicians series in September 1995.

Historian
United States Postal Service
July 2008