DeSoto, DeSoto ISD join in unveiling ceremony of black history stamps

by Daphne Brown of DeSoto TODAY

Mary Church Terrell

In partnership with the city of DeSoto, and the DeSoto Independent School District, the U.S. Postal Service is hosting a stamp unveiling ceremony to honor the courage, commitment and achievements of 12 African-American civil rights pioneers.

These individuals are being recognized in conjunction with the 100th anniversary celebration of the NAACP. The event is set for 3 p.m., Feb. 22 in the DeSoto High School auditorium, located at 600 Eagle Dr. in DeSoto.

Also, to create awareness and educate students about historical stamp subjects, the event includes an essay contest for DeSoto High School students. Winners were announced during the ceremony.

Guest Speakers include Dallas Chapter NAACP President Juanita Wallace, Sen. Royce West and DeSoto Mayor Bobby Waddle. Also, cast members, Irma P. Hall, Vince McGill, Regina Washington, from the upcoming stage play, “A Raisin in the Sun,” will perform a brief scene from the play.

The event is free and open to the public.

The 12 Black History stamp honorees are:

Mary Church Terrell (1863-1954) - Throughout her long life as a writer, activist, and lecturer, she was a powerful advocate for racial justice and women's rights in America and abroad.

Mary White Ovington (1865-1951) - This journalist and social worker believed passionately in racial equality and was a founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

J. R. Clifford (1848-1933) - He was the first black attorney licensed in West Virginia; in two landmark cases before his state's Supreme Court, he attacked racial discrimination in education.

Joel Elias Spingarn (1875-1939) - Because coverage of blacks in the media tended to be negative, he endowed the prestigious Spingarn Medal, awarded annually since 1915, to highlight black achievement.

Oswald Garrison Villard (1872-1949) - He was one of the founders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and wrote the “Call” leading to its formation.

Daisy Gatson Bates (1914-1999) - She mentored nine black students who enrolled at all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957; the students used her home as an organizational hub.

Charles Hamilton Houston (1895-1950) - This lawyer and educator was a main architect of the civil rights movement. He believed in using laws to better the lives of underprivileged citizens.

Walter White (1893-1955) - Blue eyes and a fair complexion enabled this leader of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to make daring undercover investigations.

Medgar Evers (1925-1963) - He served with distinction as an official of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in Mississippi until his assassination in 1963.

Fannie Lou Hamer (1917-1977) - She was a Mississippi sharecropper who fought for black voting rights and spoke for many when she said, “I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired.”

Ella Baker (1903-1986) - Her lifetime of activism made her a skillful organizer. She encouraged women and young people to assume positions of leadership in the civil rights movement.

Ruby Hurley (1909-1980) - As a courageous and capable official with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), she did difficult, dangerous work in the South.