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The Forever stamp will be part of the USPS’s Black Heritage series, honoring people whose work contributed to arts and culture in the Black community. Wilson’s stamp will be the 44th in the series. The stamp will be dedicated on January 28, 2021, during a ceremony that will be streamed on Facebook and Twitter.

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Wilson was was born Frederick August Kittel, Jr. in 1945 in the Hill District of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the fourth of six children. During his lifetime, he experienced and observed racial injustice, the Civil Rights Movement, and the Black Power movement. He also witnessed the destruction of the Lower Hill and the uprooting of more than 10,000 people to build the Civic Arena, now demolished.

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As an artist, Wilson’s work chronicled the experience of living as an African American. Among the many awards won by Wilson were two Pulitzer Prizes, for Fences and The Piano Lesson.  All but one of the 10 plays in his American Century Cycle are set in Pittsburgh.  He died in 2005.

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