# 5432 - 2020 First-Class Forever Stamp - Black Heritage: Gwen Ifill

US #5432
2020 Gwen Ifill – Black Heritage Series

• Honors well-known Black journalist Gwen Ifill
• The 43rd stamp in the Black Heritage Series

Stamp Category:  Commemorative
Series:  Black Heritage
Value:  55¢ First Class Mail Rate (Forever)
First Day of Issue:  January 30, 2020
First Day City:  Washington, DC
Quantity Issued:  40,000,000
Printed by:  Banknote Corporation of America
Printing Method:  Offset, Microprint
Format:  Panes of 20
Tagging:  Phosphor Tagged Paper Block

Why the stamp was issued:  Commemorates Gwen Ifill, one of the first Black women to hold prominent positions in broadcasting and journalism.

About the stamp design:  Pictures a photograph of Ifill taken in 2008 by Robert Severi.

First Day City:  The First Day of Issue Ceremony was held at the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church in Washington, DC. Ifill was a member of the church and her father (Reverend O. Urcille Ifill) was once the general secretary of the church.

About the Black Heritage Series:  The Black Heritage Series began on February 1, 1978, with the issue of the 13¢ Harriet Tubman stamp (US #1744). Since then, the USPS has issued a new stamp in the series every year. A number of them have even been released in February in recognition of Black History month.

History the stamp represents:  Throughout history, few journalists have shown more integrity than Gwen Ifill. Her ability to remain unbiased made her a skilled interviewer, moderator, and news anchor. In 2020, Ifill was honored on the 43rd stamp in the Black Heritage Series.

Gwendolyn L. Ifill was born on September 29, 1955, in Queens. She was the fifth child of an African Methodist Episcopal minister, and spent much of her childhood moving around to different East Coast cities. In 1977, Ifill graduated with a degree in communications from Simmons College in Boston. It was during her time there that she interned for the Boston Herald-American and began cultivating her passion or journalism.

Ifill started her first television job in 1994, and five years later, was the first black woman to host a national political talk show. From there, Ifill quickly became one of the most trusted names in journalism. She was the first African-American woman to moderate a vice-presidential debate, doing so in both 2004 and 2008.

Upon her death in 2016, President Obama said of Gwen Ifill, “She was an extraordinary journalist. She always kept faith with the fundamental responsibilities of her profession, asking tough questions, holding people in power accountable, and defending a strong and free press that makes our democracy work.”