To celebrate Black History Month here at WOBIK we are displaying the new Robert Robinson Taylor USPS postage stamp (first day of issue was Feb. 12, 2015):
Apparently Black History Month was originally known as Negro History Week when it was created in 1926.
It wasn’t until 1976 that the observance was changed from one week to one full month and the word Negro was replaced with the word Black.
February is the shortest month of the year and I’ve sometimes heard tales about Black History Month being celebrated in February for that same reason. Not true, not at all.
As stated above the observance was originally a week long event which was held in the second (2nd) week of February. This was to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln (12th day) and Frederick Douglass (14th day).
The postage stamp above bears a photograph of Robert Robinson Taylor (June 8, 1868 – December 13, 1942) who, according to what I could find on Wikipedia, was:
1. American architect
2. According to some accounts the first accredited black American architect.
3. First black American student enrolled at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1888).
4. Designed many of the buildings on the campus of Tuskegee University (prior to 1932), and he served as second-in-command to the school’s founder and first President, Booker T. Washington.
The United States Postal Services adds the following regarding Robert Robinson Taylor:
Remembered for his calm determination and quiet dignity, Robert Robinson Taylor (1868-1942) is believed to have been both the first black graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the country’s first academically trained black architect–accomplishments that helped open a new profession to African Americans.
His work furthered Booker T. Washington’s dream of fostering not just African-American builders and carpenters, but architects who could plan the buildings.
Purchase the postage stamp online (USPS website) at the following link:
It should also be noted that Black History Month is also celebrated in the following two countries:
a. United Kingdom of Great Britain (since 1987)
b. Canada (since 1995 by the Canadian House of Commons and since 2008 by the Canadian Senate)
Speaking of postage stamps we want to bring up that we’ve seen a number of Barack Obama postage stamps from other countries and maybe even a US Commonwealth (or US Territory) stamp. I can’t remember for certain about the US Commonwealth/Territory stamp (I may not be remembering correctly) but we will look around and see if we can locate any images and then post them (if there are any) in the comments section. Feel free to help us look and to share your findings with us.
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These may be the stamps that I was remembering.
All six (6) postage stamps are from the Federated States of Micronesia which is an independent sovereign island nation but also a United States Associated State.
The nation (607 islands) consists of four states: Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosrae in the Pacific Ocean.
Or it may have been these stamps.
All five (5) postage stamps are from the from Palau which was made a part of the United States-governed Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands in 1947. In 1979 Palau voted against joining the Federated States of Micronesia. Paulau gained full sovereignty in 1994 under a Compact of Free Association with the United States of America.
Palau is a presidential republic in free association with the United States of America.
Here’s what the Department of Homeland Security and US Citizenship and Immigration Services has to say about:
1. Federated States of Micronesia
2. Republic of the Marshall Islands
2. Palau
Citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and Palau Are Eligible to Work in the United States Indefinitely
Immigration Status of Citizens of the FSM, the RMI and Palau:
Citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), and Palau are admitted to the United States as nonimmigrants when admitted under the terms of those nations’ respective Compacts of Free Association with the United States. These three countries are sometimes referred to collectively as the “Freely Associated States.”
Citizens of the FSM, the RMI, and Palau are not citizens or nationals of the United States. Form I-9 instructions state that the term ‘noncitizen national of the United States’ includes “certain citizens of the former Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands.” This refers to a very small group of persons resident in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in 1986 who chose voluntarily to give up their new U.S. citizenship. This does not apply to citizens of the FSM, the RMI, or Palau, although many of them are citizens of the former Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI) as well.
Indefinite work authorization:
Under the terms of their respective Compacts of Free Association with the United States, citizens of the FSM, the RMI, and Palau are eligible to work in the United States as nonimmigrants for an unlimited length of time.
Read more at:
http://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/complete-correct-form-i-9/complete-section-1-employee-information-and-verification/federated-states-micronesia-republic-marshall-islands-and-palau
I also thought I’d seen some Obama postage stamps a few years ago from the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands but I cannot find a definitive record of them online tonight and I was most likely mistaken about them.
I also thought that I may have seen an Obama postage stamp a few years ago from Territory of Guam. I can’t find any online reference to it at all tonight and I was probably mistaken.
Ps.
The Micronesia region (as opposed to the Polynesia region and the Melanesia region) of the Pacific Ocean consists of the following political entities:
1. Marshall Islands
2. Palau
3. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
4. Territory of Guam
5. Federated States of Micronesia
President Harry Truman’s encouraging message (1946) regarding Negro History Week (online source: http://mts.lib.uchicago.edu/artifacts/index.php?id=morris&page=credits):
The interesting and well-researched historical novel, “Charleston” by John Jakes, includes as a natural part of its story-line, a very sad but balanced and easily assimilated portrait of slavery and its ramifications in America during the time period from the Revolution to the Civil War.
http://www.johnjakes.com/charleston.htm