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  • 2000-03-22 (xsd:date)
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  • Are Black Heritage Stamps Being Discontinued? (de)
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  • A significant subset of the e-mail forwards we receive consists of expressions of the theme that blacks are being overlooked and slighted by white Americans, particularly in the economic arena. A common feature of such messages are claims that major companies decline to advertise in media that reach primarily black audiences (because those businesses fail to recognize both the social desires and income levels of black Americans) and that the roles of blacks in American history have been ignored or minimized. Examples: This current message touches on both these themes — postage stamps honoring the heritage and contributions of Black Americans are being discontinued and destroyed for the most basic of economic reasons: because people don't buy them. In this particular case, however, those feelings are misplaced: the United States Postal Service (USPS) is neither discontinuing the Black Heritage series of postage stamps nor planning to destroy the remaining stock of those issues. The series has been going strong ever since 1978, and the 2007 stamp (the 30th entry in the series) features singer Ella Fitzgerald. There is no end to the Black Heritage series in sight no matter how well or poorly any of its individual stamps sell, but rumors claiming that the series is in danger of discontinuation due to low sales have been circulating since at least 2000, when Executive Director of Stamp Services Azeezaly S. Jaffer issued an official USPS media statement disclaiming those rumors: This policy was confirmed yet again by the USPS in a March 2005 press release: In 2007 the USPS confirmed yet again that not only are Black Heritage stamps being neither discontinued nor destroyed, but that the series is one of its most popular issues: Exhorting people to buy Black Heritage stamps as a way of honoring the memories of the individuals they depict (and black Americans in general) is a worthy cause; such efforts need not be based on misinformation to succeed. (en)
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