This weekend, during Black History Month, the High Point Museum is opening an exhibit titled “To Form a More Perfect Union.” It features a collection of African American stamps issued by the U.S. Postal Service over 20 years ago to honor historic civil rights milestones.
The Thankful Heritage Museum is curating the exhibition. The nonprofit’s mission is to preserve African American historical, cultural, and artistic materials.
President and CEO Effley Howell says he was inspired by the U.S. Postal Service issuing 10 commemorative stamps in the early 2000s. That series, also titled “To Form a More Perfect Union,” included stamps highlighting the Greensboro lunch counter sit-in, the Selma march, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Howell says the postal service’s tradition of honoring African American contributions is important.
"Booker T. Washington was the first Black person to be on the U.S. postal stamp in 1940, I believe it was," says Howell. "And George Washington Carver was the second one in '48."
Howell says he hopes the exhibit brings these historic efforts on the part of African Americans into our present consciousness and offers a moment of reflection.
"When you start looking at the stamps, it's like, this is something important," he says. "But hey, I can have the stamp. It's an easy way to collect history."
The exhibit with stamps, archival photos, signage and additional historical information opens Saturday at the High Point Museum and runs through the end of the month.