African Americans on Postage Stamps

Mary Church Terrell and Mary White Ovington

Civil Rights Pioneers

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42-cent Mary Church Terrell and Mary White Ovington stamp. The Civil Rights Pioneers Issue was released on February 21, 2009.

Throughout Mary Church Terrell's (1863-1954) long life as a writer, activist, and lecturer, she was a powerful advocate for racial justice and women’s rights in America and abroad. The portrait of Mary Church Terrell used for the stamp honoring her is from the collection of the Library of Congress.

Mary White Ovington (1865-1951), a journalist and social worker, believed passionately in racial equality and was a founder of the NAACP. The photograph of Mary White Ovington used on the stamp honoring her was taken between 1930 and 1940. It is part of the NAACP archival collection at the Library of Congress.

The Black Experience