The Postal Service held several dedications for the new Richard Allen stamp throughout African-American History Month.
Allen, a prominent religious and civic leader in the 18th and 19th centuries, founded the African Methodist Episcopal Church.
Eastern Area VP Josh Colin dedicated the stamp in Philadelphia, where he praised Allen as “a man of boundless stature, courage and determination.”
DPMG Ron Stroman spoke at a series of special dedications, including a ceremony organized by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History in Washington, DC.
Stroman described Allen as “a man whose spiritual journey to Christianity and whose secular journey to freedom has no parallel in American history. A man of such unshakable sense of mission that even in his early 20s, he could see a barren piece of land in Philadelphia and say to those who would hear, ‘On this rock, I shall build my church.’”
Other major events were held in Los Angeles, Baltimore and Chicago, where USPS also recognized Fort Dearborn, IL, Customer Services Supervisor Cassandra Sudduth, who initiated a petition drive to honor Allen with a stamp.
“I’m fortunate and blessed to be a part of history,” Sudduth said.
