Black Heritage Stamp 2008

With the 31st stamp in its Black Heritage series, the U.S. Postal Service honors Charles W. Chesnutt (1858–1932), an African American author and political activist best known for novels and short stories exploring racism and other social themes. He was a pioneering writer recognized today as a major innovator and singular voice among turn–of–the–century literary realists. In novels such as The Marrow of Tradition and short stories such as those collected in The Conjure Woman he probed the color line in American life.

Art director Howard Paine wanted a stamp that emphasized Chesnutt’s intelligence and dignity; the portrait painted by stamp artist Kazuhiko Sano was based on a 1908 photograph from the collection of Fisk University.

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