USPS honors Phillis Wheatley on this year’s Black Heritage Series stamp

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – People gathered at Friendship Missionary Baptist Church in north Charlotte on Tuesday to celebrate 2026’s Black Heritage Series stamp dedication. This year, the U.S. Postal Service is honoring Phillis Wheatley. Born in Africa, Wheatley was brought to Boston aboard a slave ship before making history as a writer.

Margaret Lorraine Dancey of the Seniors in the Spotlight Stamp Club says, “Phillis Wheatley was a slave in Boston. But she was taught to read and write by her owners. They taught her English, Greek, Latin, and literature. And so she was the first African-American person to publish a book of poetry.”

2026 marks 49 years of Black Heritage Series stamps, making it the longest-running series in U.S. Postal history.