On 22 June, 2010, the U.S. Postal Service added another collectible postage stamp to its Black Heritage commemorative stamps series with their dedication of the 44-cent Oscar Micheaux stamp. Micheaux, a pioneering filmmaker, appears on the 33rd stamp in the popular Black Heritage stamp series.
The Life and Works of Oscar Micheaux
According to Britannica.com, Oscar Micheaux was born on 2 January, 1884 in Metropolis, Illinois.
Micheaux launched his film career in an unusual manner. In 1917, Micheaux self-published one of several books, called The Homesteader, based on his experiences as a South Dakota homesteader. When approached by a film company about the movie rights to this book, Micheaux refused their offer in order to make his own film version of the book.
From his unusual start to a film career in 1919 until his last movie in 1948, Micheaux created more than 45 films for African-American audiences. To survive in the industry, he often distributed the films by hand to some of the 700 theaters that showed black films, and personally gathered financing for future projects from individual investors. While most independent film producers failed during the transition from silent movies to "talkies", Micheaux's charisma and determination allowed him to succeed outside the mainstream of the movie industry long after the silent movie era had ended.
While he did create a large number of films in the typical Hollywood genres of mysteries, gangster films, and jungle adventures; many of Micheaux's films examined racial issues of the time. In Within Our Gates (1920) he tackled white prejudice, in The Exile (1931) he dealt with interracial romance, and in God's Step Children (1937) he examined the issues dealing with differing skin-tones in the African-American community.
Largely forgotten after his death, Micheaux has earned renewed recognition for his accomplishments in recent years.
Oscar Micheaux died on 25 March, 1951 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
USPS Oscar Micheaux Black Heritage Stamp
As seen in USA Philatelic: Beyond the Perf, Issue 016, with the Oscar Micheaux issue, the USPS continued its design scheme featuring color portraits for the Black Heritage series. For his design, artist Gary Kelley created a portrait based on a photograph that appeared in Micheaux's novel The Conquest (1913).
United States Stamps in the Black Heritage Series
As of 22 June, 2010, there are 33 stamps in the USPS Black Heritage series. With each new collectible postage stamp, the USPS generates recognition for often-overlooked contributors to American history and society. The current list of Black Heritage stamp subjects can be found below. For those interested in postage stamp collecting, the Scott catalog number is found beside each stamp.
- Harriet Tubman (Scott #1744)
- Martin Luther King, Jr. (Scott #1771)
- Benjamin Banneker (Scott #1804)
- Whitney Moore Young, Jr. (Scott #1875)
- Jackie Robinson (Scott #2016)
- Scott Joplin (Scott #2044)
- Carter G. Woodson (Scott #2073)
- Mary McLeod Bethune (Scott #2137)
- Sojourner Truth (Scott #2203)
- Jean Baptiste Pointe Du Sable (Scott #2249)
- James Weldon Johnson (Scott #2371)
- A. Philip Randolph (Scott #2402)
- Ida B. Wells (Scott #2442)
- Jan E. Matzeliger (Scott #2567)
- W.E.B. Du Bois (Scott #2617)
- Percy Lavon Julian (Scott #2746)
- Dr. Allison Davis (Scott #2816)
- Bessie Coleman (Scott #2956)
- Ernest E. Just (Scott #3058)
- Benjamin O. Davis, Sr. (Scott #3121)
- Madam C.J. Walker (Scott #3181)
- Malcolm X (Scott #3273)
- Patricia Roberts Harris (Scott #3371)
- Roy Wilkins (Scott #3501)
- Langston Hughes (Scott #3557)
- Thurgood Marshall (Scott #3746)
- Paul Robeson (Scott #3834)
- Marian Anderson (Scott #3896)
- Hattie McDaniel (Scott #3996)
- Ella Fitzgerald (Scott #4120)
- Charles W. Chesnutt (Scott #4222)
- Anna Julia Cooper (Scott #4408)
- Oscar Micheaux (Scott #4464)
According to the USPS, the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee (CSAC) has identified a wide range of nominees for the Black Heritage series. Nominees come from the entertainment, activist, entrepreneurial, and scientific fields, among others. With such a long backlist of nominees, the Black Heritage series, despite persistent annual rumors, should continue unabated for years to come.
Source
"Oscar Micheaux." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2010. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 12 Aug. 2010
