1986 22c Black Heritage: Sojourner Truth
# 2203 - 1986 22c Black Heritage: Sojourner Truth
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U.S. #2203
1986 22¢ Sojourner Truth
Black Heritage
- 9th stamp in Black Heritage Series
- Issued at Sojourner Truth Library in New Paltz, New York
Stamp Category: Commemorative
Series: Black Heritage
Value: 22¢, first class rate
First Day of Issue: February 4, 1986
First Day City: New Paltz, New York
Quantity Issued: 130,000,000
Printed by: American Bank Note Company
Printing Method: Photogravure
Format: Panes of 50 in sheets of 200
Perforations: 11
Why the stamp was issued: As with most Black Heritage stamps, it was issued in February to mark Black History Month.
About the stamp design: Jerry Pinkney designed this stamp, as he done all the others in the series before it. He also returned to the original format – featuring a large head and shoulders portrait and a small inset image of the person in action. Pinkney consulted three photos from the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery to create the two depictions of Sojourner Truth on this stamp. The small inset image pictures her at a speaker’s lectern.
First Day City: The First Day ceremony for this stamp was held at the Sojourner Truth Library at the State University of New York in New Paltz. Born about 20 miles away in Hurley, New York, Truth had spent the years 1810 to 1827 in New Paltz as a slave.
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. As of 2023, it was the USPS’s longest-running stamp series of all time.
History the stamp represents: Sojourner Truth was born Isabella Baumfree in Swartekill, New York in 1797. She was born to slaves at a time when slavery was still legal in New York. When she was nine, Truth was sold with a flock of sheep for $100.
Truth suffered beatings at the hands of a cruel master for three years before being sold several times. In 1799, New York began to legislate to abolish slavery, though the law wouldn’t go into effect until 1827. Truth’s owner promised to free her a year before the state emancipation, but when she injured her hand, he claimed she was less productive and rescinded his promise. Truth then worked furiously, spinning 100 pounds of wool, to make up for her injury.
Then in late 1826, Truth escaped with her infant daughter, leaving her other four children behind. Truth found shelter in the home of Isaac and Maria Van Wagener, who paid her former master $20 for her freedom. While there, Truth learned that one of her sons had been illegally sold to an owner in Alabama. She took the issue to court and got her son back, making her one of the first African American women to go to court against a white man and win.
Truth had a life-changing experience while living with the Van Wageners. She became “overwhelmed with the greatness of the Divine presence” and began preaching in 1843, telling friends, “The Spirit calls me and I must go.” She changed her name to Sojourner Truth on June 1, 1843, because she believed that God had called her to “testify the hope that was in her.”
Truth traveled throughout the North, speaking against slavery and for women’s rights. In 1850, she spoke at the first National Women’s Rights Convention in Worcester, Massachusetts. Her friend Olive Gilbert wrote her memoirs, The Narrative of Sojourner Truth: A Northern Slave, which helped supplement her income.
During the Civil War, Sojourner Truth recruited black troops to fight for the Union. In 1864, she moved to Washington, DC, to work for the National Freedman’s Relief Association. She met with President Lincoln in October of that year. In 1865, she rode in streetcars to help campaign for their desegregation.
Truth continued to work with newly freed slaves after the war and to speak on their behalf whenever she had the opportunity. She spent years trying unsuccessfully to persuade the Federal government to give free land in the West to former slaves, so they could escape harsh treatment in the South. Truth was encouraged when many black people began moving West and settling in Kansas. She again traveled and spoke, this time to gain support for the pioneers she called the “Exodusters.”
In 1872, Truth met with President Ulysses S. Grant and returned home to Battle Creek, Michigan to speak on his behalf in his re-election campaign. She even tried to vote in that election but was turned away.
Truth continued to advocate for the rights of others until her death on November 26, 1883. Many buildings have been named in her honor, as well as the robotic rover of the NASA Mars Pathfinder.
U.S. #2203
1986 22¢ Sojourner Truth
Black Heritage
- 9th stamp in Black Heritage Series
- Issued at Sojourner Truth Library in New Paltz, New York
Stamp Category: Commemorative
Series: Black Heritage
Value: 22¢, first class rate
First Day of Issue: February 4, 1986
First Day City: New Paltz, New York
Quantity Issued: 130,000,000
Printed by: American Bank Note Company
Printing Method: Photogravure
Format: Panes of 50 in sheets of 200
Perforations: 11
Why the stamp was issued: As with most Black Heritage stamps, it was issued in February to mark Black History Month.
About the stamp design: Jerry Pinkney designed this stamp, as he done all the others in the series before it. He also returned to the original format – featuring a large head and shoulders portrait and a small inset image of the person in action. Pinkney consulted three photos from the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery to create the two depictions of Sojourner Truth on this stamp. The small inset image pictures her at a speaker’s lectern.
First Day City: The First Day ceremony for this stamp was held at the Sojourner Truth Library at the State University of New York in New Paltz. Born about 20 miles away in Hurley, New York, Truth had spent the years 1810 to 1827 in New Paltz as a slave.
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. As of 2023, it was the USPS’s longest-running stamp series of all time.
History the stamp represents: Sojourner Truth was born Isabella Baumfree in Swartekill, New York in 1797. She was born to slaves at a time when slavery was still legal in New York. When she was nine, Truth was sold with a flock of sheep for $100.
Truth suffered beatings at the hands of a cruel master for three years before being sold several times. In 1799, New York began to legislate to abolish slavery, though the law wouldn’t go into effect until 1827. Truth’s owner promised to free her a year before the state emancipation, but when she injured her hand, he claimed she was less productive and rescinded his promise. Truth then worked furiously, spinning 100 pounds of wool, to make up for her injury.
Then in late 1826, Truth escaped with her infant daughter, leaving her other four children behind. Truth found shelter in the home of Isaac and Maria Van Wagener, who paid her former master $20 for her freedom. While there, Truth learned that one of her sons had been illegally sold to an owner in Alabama. She took the issue to court and got her son back, making her one of the first African American women to go to court against a white man and win.
Truth had a life-changing experience while living with the Van Wageners. She became “overwhelmed with the greatness of the Divine presence” and began preaching in 1843, telling friends, “The Spirit calls me and I must go.” She changed her name to Sojourner Truth on June 1, 1843, because she believed that God had called her to “testify the hope that was in her.”
Truth traveled throughout the North, speaking against slavery and for women’s rights. In 1850, she spoke at the first National Women’s Rights Convention in Worcester, Massachusetts. Her friend Olive Gilbert wrote her memoirs, The Narrative of Sojourner Truth: A Northern Slave, which helped supplement her income.
During the Civil War, Sojourner Truth recruited black troops to fight for the Union. In 1864, she moved to Washington, DC, to work for the National Freedman’s Relief Association. She met with President Lincoln in October of that year. In 1865, she rode in streetcars to help campaign for their desegregation.
Truth continued to work with newly freed slaves after the war and to speak on their behalf whenever she had the opportunity. She spent years trying unsuccessfully to persuade the Federal government to give free land in the West to former slaves, so they could escape harsh treatment in the South. Truth was encouraged when many black people began moving West and settling in Kansas. She again traveled and spoke, this time to gain support for the pioneers she called the “Exodusters.”
In 1872, Truth met with President Ulysses S. Grant and returned home to Battle Creek, Michigan to speak on his behalf in his re-election campaign. She even tried to vote in that election but was turned away.
Truth continued to advocate for the rights of others until her death on November 26, 1883. Many buildings have been named in her honor, as well as the robotic rover of the NASA Mars Pathfinder.