Maya Angelou stamp can be ordered for delivery in April
SPECIAL TO
THE CHRONICLE
WASHINGTON -
The U.S. Postal Service has
announced that the First
Day-of-Issue stamp dedica
tion ceremony for the Dr.
Maya Angelou Forever
Stamp will take place at 11
a.m.. Tuesday. April 7, at
the Warner Theater in
Washington, D.C.
The event is free and
open to the public. Seating
is limited. The stamps may
be pre-ordered now for
delivery shortly after April
7. Use this link:
http://uspsstamps.com/sta
mps/maya-angelou
As an author, poet,
actress, and champion of
civil rights, Angelou
(1928?2014) was one of
the most dynamic voices in
20th-century American lit
erature. The book, "I Know
Why the Caged Bird
Sings," an autobiographi
cal account of her child
hood. gained wide acclaim
for its vivid depiction of
African-American life in
the South.
The stamp showcases
Atlanta-based artist Ross
Rossin's 2013 48" x 48"
oil-on-canvas portrait of
Angelou. The large hyper
realistic painting is part of
the Smithsonian National
Portrait Gallery's collec
tion, where it will be on
display through Nov. 1.
The stamp features this
quotation by the pioneering
author: "A bird doesn't
sing because it has an
answer, it sings because it
has a song."
The stamp pane
includes a short excerpt
from Angelou's book,
"Letter to My Daughter." It
reads: 'Try to be a rainbow
in someone's cloud."
Art director Ethel
Kessler of Bethesda, MD,
designed the stamp.
Customers are encouraged
to use social media to
spread the news about the
stamp using
#MayaForever.
"I always wanted to
paint Maya as she was a
voice that inspired millions
? not just as an individual,
but as a legendary poet and
a civil rights icon who tran
scended generations,"
Rossin added. "1 was com
pelled by the challenge to
portray her forgiving smile
and her aura of uncondi
tional love and understand
ing that comes across when
having a conversation with
her."
Rossin is a good friend
of former Ambassador
Andrew Young, having
forged a close personal
relationship with the artist
since rendering a portrait of
Young several years ago,
which also hangs in the
National Portrait Gallery.
Knowing that
Angelou's birthday was
coming up, he felt the urge
to introduce Rossin to her
in 2013.
"I applaud the U.S.
Postal Service for their
decision to honor my
beloved friend Maya with a
Forever stamp, and for
using Rossin's portrait of
her for this perennial
image," said Young. "He is
a master portrait artist ? a
prodigy. It is an honor to be
immortalized by his brush
stroke."
"During my visit to her
Winston-Salem, N.C.,
home 1 spoke with Maya
for several hours about her
life journey and courage of
finding the light in the
midst of her darkness. It is
her energy, the God
Particle, which struck me.
Later that evening, Oprah
Winfrey hosted a birthday
party for Angelou. This
was the critical moment
when I saw Maya through
the eyes of others. My per
sonal experience around
Maya's aura led to the cre
ation of an intimate yet uni
versal painting, which later
Maya enthusiastically
approved." Rossin said.
"This is exactly how I
see myself and exactly how
I wish to be remembered,"
Rossin recalled of
Angelou's reaction to his
work.
"I wanted to capture
her laughter, her cry and
the forgiveness and bless
ings that came from her
face," he added. "It is not
only her portrait that is big
ger than life. It is she her
self who is bigger than life.
The portrait is evidence of
her magic."
Submitted pboto
The Maya Angelou stamp image is the work of artist Ross Rossin.
MAYA
ANGELOU
"A bird doesn't sing
because it has an
answer, it sings because
it has a song." A
Cubans hopeful U.S. embargo will end, pastor finds
BY TODD LUCK
THE CHRONICLE
Rev. Lamont Williams
was among black pastors
that visited Cuba earlier
this year, after President
Barack Obama called for
an end to the U.S. embargo
on the communist nation.
Williams, pastor of
Diggs Memorial Church,
went on a trip to the Cuban
capital of Havana with pas
tors from around the
nation. It was sponsored by
the Progressive National
Baptist Convention, whose
general secretary. Rev. Dr.
Tyrone Pitts, helped organ
ize and participated in the
trip. The trip, which lasted
from Jan. 30-Feb. 9, was
part of the 25th anniversary
celebration of a Cuban
Baptist church organiza
tion, La Fraternidad de
Iglesias Bautistas de Cuba.
During that time, the pas
tors worshipped, preached
and took communion with
Cuban congregations.
Williams said those he
talked to were cautious, but
optimistic about the end to
the five-decade- old
embargo on trade and trav
el to the island country
that's only 90 miles south
of Florida.
"Many of them said
'Yes, it's wonderful,' but
they still want to maintain
their identity," he said.
Rev. Dr. John Mendez.
pastor of Emmanuel
Baptist Church, helped
organize the trip. He also
planned to go, but was
unable to, because he was
helping with protests over
new developments in an
Apache land dispute in
Arizona. Mendez is no
stranger to Cuba, having
visited the country several
times, including in a large
delegation that came with
the Rev. Jesse Jackson in
the 1980s. He said he wel
comed the end of what he
called "fifty years of this
nonsense that hasn't pro
duced anything."
"As Americans, we
have to learn how to get
along with other people,
other countries in the
world," he said.
"Everybody's not our
enemy and Cuba is a small,
tiny country that has a right
to choose their own
social/economic system
and to organize their des
tiny as they see it without
our interference."
Since Obama's Dec. 17
announcement on normal
izing relations with Cuba,
12 categories of travel are
now allowed for Americans
going there, including fam
ily visits, religious purpos
es and cultural exchanges.
Tourism restrictions have
yet to be listed. Talks are
underway on renewing
diplomatic relations.
Cuba's status on the state
sponsors of terrorism list is
being reviewed. Lifting of
trade sanctions will have to
approved by Congress,
where opponents say that
restrictions should not be
lifted without concessions
of free elections , greater
freedoms and the release of
all political prisoners by
the Cuban government.
Obama and other support
ers have said free trade will
encourage Cuba to become
more democratic.
Many have made high
profile visits to Cuba in the
last couple months, includ
ing members of the U.S.
Congress and Conan
O'Brien, who filmed his
show there.
Williams said he
believes his was the first
African-American delega
tion to visit since Obama's
announcement. He said he
saw a lot of Cuban
Americans visiting their
families there.
On the streets of
Havana he saw busses
labeled "US-Cuba
Freindshipment" with the
words "End the embargo
against Cuba!" on them.
These buses have been
used by the U.S.-based
Pastors for Peace to defy
the embargo with annual
aid shipments to Cuba
since 1992.
Williams said the
Cuban people have close
knit communities that rely
on each other for things
like large urban gardens
that are planted by and ben
efit the whole community.
He heard from one Cuban
that it was odd that some
Americans don't know
their neighbors. In Cuba,
he was told, neighbors help
each other survive.
Williams sang during
the Cuban church services.
He said that, despite the
language barrier, he was
well received with requests
to come back and do a con
cert, and inquiries if he had
any CDs of his vocals.
"This lady comes to me
after the service, she says
'Listen, I couldn't figure
out all the words you were
saying, but I was moved by
the spirit in which you sung
it,'" he said.
They also visited the
Centro Memorial Martin
Luther King Jr. in Havana,
which was founded to pro
vide training and education
in King's philosophy of
nonviolence.
A bus in Havana, Cuba used in the annual
Friendshipment aid runs done by Pastors for Peace
in protest of the embargo.
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