About This Stamp
A true renaissance man, James Weldon Johnson (1871–1938) brought his unique voice to America as a lawyer, diplomat, educator, musician, and writer. He lived and worked in Harlem during the 1920s and served as the executive director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) during the flowering of black culture and activism that characterized that time and place. Through his writing, music, and political service, he dedicated his life to improving the status of other African Americans. His composition, "Lift Every Voice and Sing," is sung today as the Black National Anthem.
This stamp is part of the Black Heritage series. Initiated in 1978, the USPS continues to issue a stamp featuring a notable Black American every February in conjunction with Black History Month and at other times during the year.
Art Director
Jerry Pinkney
Stamp Artist
Thomas Blackshear II
Thomas Blackshear II was born in Texas and grew up in Georgia. He pursued his interest in art — “Drawing was all I ever wanted to do,” he says — throughout high school. After graduating from the American Academy of Art in Chicago in 1977, he went to work for Hallmark Cards, where he met and served as an apprentice to illustrator Mark English. In 1980, Blackshear became head illustrator for Godbold/Richter Studios. He began his freelance career in 1982.
Known for his dramatic lighting and sensitivity to mood, Blackshear has produced illustrations for stamps, posters, collectors’ plates, magazines, greeting cards, calendars, books, and advertising. His clients have included Anheuser-Busch, Disney Pictures, Coca-Cola, Jim Henson Studios, Lee Jeans, George Lucas Studios, Milton Bradley, Seven-Up, and Universal Studios.
In 2006, Blackshear’s art was exhibited in Rome in a show sponsored by the Vatican. Known for his best-selling designs for figurines in the Thomas Blackshear’s Ebony Visions collection, he also created the artwork for the “Master Place” collection for DaySpring Cards.
Blackshear’s numerous stamp designs for the U.S. Postal Service® include five stamps in the Black Heritage series, most recently the Dorothy Height stamp (2017). In addition, his artwork has been featured on more than a dozen stamps commemorating Classic Films (1990), Jazz: Legends of American Music series (1995), Classic Movie Monsters (1997), James Baldwin (2004), Mother Teresa (2010), Rosa Parks (2013), and Chief Standing Bear (2023).
Twenty-eight of his depictions of famous Black Americans are featured in the 1992 Black Heritage series commemorative book entitled I Have A Dream. Blackshear has received many awards for his art including a gold medal from the Society of Illustrators. This freelance artist, teacher, and lecturer currently lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado.