Events and ESPER News
Reflections Wins Grand Award at NTSS
The 66th Annual American Topical Association National Topical Stamp Show was held July 31 through August 2, 2015, in Portland, Oregon. At the NTSS 2015 Stamp Exhibition Study Unit Literature Competition, ESPER’s quarterly newsletter, Reflections, won the Grand Award for Study Units with more than 200 members. Editor Don Neal is excited by this recognition and accomplishment. The issues that won the award are July 2014, October 2014, January 2015, and April 2015. Congratulations, Don!
Freedom Just Around the Corner
On February 12, 2015, The Smithsonian National Postal Museum held an evening gala to celebrate the opening of its year-long exhibition, “Freedom Just Around the Corner: Black America from Civil War to Civil Rights.” The exhibit’s opening coincided with the first-day-of-issue ceremony for the Robert Robinson Taylor Black Heritage stamp also held in the museum earlier in the day. The National Postal Museum’s (NPM) first exhibition devoted entirely to African-American history marks 150 years since the end of the Civil War and the abolition of slavery throughout the United States. The exhibition chronicles the African-American experience through the perspective of stamps and mail.
Pictures from Exhibit
Click on picture for tour and web link
Our Website Banner Designer
ESPER's website banner was designed by cachet maker Kendal Bevil. He took time from his busy schedule to do so. We want to acknowledge Kendal for his talent, generosity, and contribution to our homepage and our society.
ESPER Member Receives
Secretary's Research Prize
ESPER member Calvin Mitchell (left), Assistant Curator of Philately, and Daniel Piazza (right), Chief Curator of Philately at the Smithsonian's National Postal Musuem share the 2016 Secretary's Research Prizes for their exhibit and catalog, "Freedom Just Around the Corner: Black America from Civil War to Civil Rights." Congratulations, Calvin and Dan!
Rosina Major interview
with Lloyd A. de Vries
ClicClick on picture for interview
ESPER Day at the National Postal Museum and
the African American Civil War Museum
ClicOctober 3, 2015
ESPER at WSS-NY2016
St. Marks UMC in Montclair, N. J.
Black History Month 2017
Black History Month Stamp Presentation
at Elementary school in Maryland
2017
(Click on photo for special page)
ESPER was a big hit at WSS-NY2016
Exhibit and PowerPoint presentation
by Clarence McKnight, Webmaster
Classroom presentation
by Clarence McKnight, Webmaster
By Natalie Shinault and Earnest Shinault Sr.
Click on picture for exhibit information
Presentation by
Tony Thaxton, Jr.
Atlanta Chapter Director
First Day of Sale event in Jersey City, N.J.
Event coordinated by New Jersey Chapter Director Della Moses Walker
Dr. Warachal Faison, ESPER's
Social Media Administrator
interview with Lloyd A. de Vries
African-American Stamp Ceremonies Videos
Stamp Ceremonies Photos
Dorothy Height Special "Forever"
Stamp Unveiling in New York
Dorothy Height Special "Forever"
Stamp Unveiling in New York
Event was held at African Burial Ground National Monument on June 20, 2017
Kwanzaa Ceremony in Charleston, S.C
Dorothy Height Ceremony Photo Page
The first-day-of-issue ceremony for the new Kwanzaa Forever stamp was held on Sat., Oct. 1, 2016 in Charleston, SC’s at the MOJA Art Festival.
Jaime Escalante Ceremony
Jaime Escalante ceremony was held July 13, 2016 during the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) 87th annual convention and exposition in Washington, DC
Robert Robinson Taylor DC Ceremony
Maya Angelou Ceremony in NYC
Richard Allen Ceremony in
Philadelphia, Pa
Maya Angelou DC Ceremony
Robert Robinson Taylor, believed to have been both the first African-American graduate of the Massa-chusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the nation’s first academically trained Black architect, was inducted into the Postal Service’s Black Heritage Stamp series on February 12, 2015, as the 38th honoree.
The Maya Angelou first day ceremony was held on April 7, 2015, at the Warner Theatre in Washington, DC. MSNBC talk show host Melisssa Harris-Perry served as the master of ceremonies.
Richard Allen Ceremony in
East Orange, NJ
Sarah Vaughan Ceremony in Newark, NJ
National Museum of African American History and Culture First Day Ceremony Photos
Snowy Days Ceremony Photos