The Time Is Always Right To Do What Is Right - And Send Some Mail

 

Every February people in the US celebrate the achievements, contributions and history of African Americans during Black History Month. Mrs. Murphy’s Mailbox enjoys celebrating African American heritage through stamps and letters, of course!! 📬💌

My favorite way to learn about history is through the words and letters of the people that lived it. I found a fabulous epistolary book entitled, Letters From Black America by Pamela Newkirk. 

This book contains letters from famous politicians, entertainers, writers, activists and educators, but it also includes amazing, heartfelt correspondence from ordinary people from the 1700s through the twenty-first century.  

If you are overwhelmed with where to start, do what I do and look through your stamp collection! The USPS has had some wonderful Black Heritage postage stamps through the years and they are the perfect place to start your research. Not sure what Anna Julia Cooper is known for? Now is the perfect time to look her up!! Never read an Anne Spencer poem? Why don’t you search for one today? Do you know who Salem Poor is? Have you ever seen a Henry Ossawa Tanner painting? Have you listened to the music of Scott Joplin or Ottis Redding or Dinah Washington? The world is full of so many remarkable people!! I encourage you to check out some new-to-you folks this Black History Month!! Remember Mrs. Murphy’s Motto... ”Interested people are interesting people!!” 

According to the USPS, the first US stamp to honor an African American was the Booker T. Washington stamp, issued in 1940. In 1978, the USPS initiated the Black Heritage stamp series to recognize the achievements of individual African Americans. There have been over 180 stamps issued that honor and celebrate Black history and achievements. A vast array of interesting people and events to learn about! 🧐

I also have discovered a wonderful stationery shop, Posterity Paper, on Etsy that is owned by woman of color, Tiffany Grimes. Inspired by her grandmother’s snailmail legacy, she designs cards for people to express love and support for the people in their lives. 🥰📬 (That sounds like a familiar mission!!) I encourage all my postal pals to check out the shop and support her business. Check out her Instagram feed here:  @posteritypaper

I encourage you to find your own ways to learn about and celebrate Black History Month. Another reason February is fabulous! 

“The greatness of man is not how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.” Bob Marley. 

Go postal, people!

XOXO

Mrs. Murphy