February 26. 1986. Portland Observer. Page 3
Sojourner Truth Stamp Issued February 4
A 22-ccnt vommemontive stamp
honoring human rig h ts a c tiv is t
Sojourner Truth was issued on Feb
ruars 4 in New Pali/. Sew York It w ill
tv available the next business da> at
post oltises nationwide
Assistant IVstmastcr*General Mars
J Layton w ill he the principal speaker
at the dedication ceremony for the latest
issue in the Black Heritage Senes The
ceremony w ill be held at I I 00 a m in
the Sojourner I ruth 1 ibrary at the State
I'niscrsity ot \e w York in New Pall/
Jcrrv Pinkney ot Croton on Hudson.
New York, who has designed all the
stamps in the Black Hentagc Series,
created the vertically oriented stamp It
features a portrait ot Sojourner Truth
with a smaller image o f her speaking
from a lectern "Sojourner T ru th " and
" 2 2 " are at the lop of the stamp in two
lines of black type At the bottom in a
single line ot white type are the words
Black Heritage" and " I SA
Born about 1797 m Hurley. New
York, she w as named Isabella and spent
her early .«.lull hie in slavery After
acquiring her freedom she went to New
York City to live, but found it nearly
impossible to earn a suitable living
Convinced that everything she had un
dertaken there had proved a failure, she
decided, in I H43. to change her name to
Sojourner Truth and leave the city to
travel and lecture because "the Spirit
calls me and
I must go "
I .Her. she told friends that "the Lord
gave me Soioumer. because I was to
travel up an' down the land, showin'
the people their sins, an' bein' a sign
unto them Afterward I told the laird I
wanted another name, 'cause every
body else had two names, and the Lord
gave he I ruth, because I was to declare
the truth to the people
Historians have noted that Sojourner
Truth was a woman ot great mental,
physical and spiritual strength who
overcame many handicaps imposed on
her by slavery Her unflinching adher
ence to principle and her fearlessness
and enthusiasm inspired many
Before the C ivil War, she traveled
thousands o f miles in many states lec
turing against slavery After the war.
she dedicated her life to being an ac-
tivist lor ltie total enfranchisement o f
the newly freed slaves and to educating
them in the moral, social, and domestic
duties o f life Sojourner Truth noted
that "they have to learn to be free"
because their minds were still enslaved
even though their bodies had been
freed
Sojourner Truth knew and had
earned the respect o f most o f the lead
ing figures o f tier lime. On her tour
neys, she carried with her what she cal
led the ’ ' Book o f L ife ,” containing the
autographs o f many distinguished
people whom she had met. including
Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Ulys
ses S Grant
S o jo u r n e r T r u th
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Black Heritage USA
1
Although she was not formally edu
caled. she was considered one ot the
greatest orators ot her time, known tor
her ability to control an audience w ith a
few words Numerous newspapers,
journals and magazines wrote ot her
travels and lectures, b rin g in g
worldwide fame lor her stance on slav
cry. temperance, penal reform and
women's rights
At a Women's Rights Convention in
Akron, Ohio, in IH 5I. she gave her
tainous " A in 't I a W om an'” speech,
reproaching men tor their belief that
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Photographed from left Io right: Senator Moynihan. President Reagan,
Secretary of Housing and I rhan Devekipment Pierce, Mrs. Wilkins.
I quai le te in un itv I mpk* ver
Wilkins Widow Gets Gold
PR.MARTIN LUTHER HINC
‘ HE [VP NOT ENORACE NON -
VIOLENCE OUT Ot-' FEAR
PR COWAR PICE, HE
CHALLENGED INJUSTICE
WITHOUT A GUN"
On Thursday. January lb, 19X6, President Reagan presented the Congressional
Cold Medal Io Mrs Roy W ilkins
l egislation introduced by Senator Moynihan i l ) N Y l and Congressman Rangel
11> N Y » and signed into law on Mav 17. 19X4. authorized the President to present
Io the w idow o f Roy W ilk ms, on bchalt ot Congress, a specially struck gold medal
I he medal is in recognition ot the coiitnbulions ot Rov W i Ik in-. to the struggle lor
civil rights and equality for all \meric.ins
PH »ïHJAHtH F HAÏS
I
Durinq his brief lifetim e NASA astronaut Ronald E M cN air achieved rem arkable successes:
honors graduate ot North Carolina AAT University, a doctorate in physics Irom M I T specializ
ing in lasers. Presidential Scholar. Ford Foundation Fellow, black belt Karate master, husband
and lather
In an essay he wrote tor students and their parents shortly betore his tragic death aboard the
space shuttle Challenger Ron M cN air told ol how the Black college experience put him on the path
to a successful lile
General Foods Corporation w ill be publishing Ron M cN air's full essay in the near future
We think the following excerpts in support ol Black colleges speak eloquently to the concerns ol
our young
~
"In September 1967,1 arrived at North Carolina AOT University, a predominantly
Black institution, to pursue a degree in physics, though I could barely say the word,
could not spell it, and knew even less about the subject matter After discussing the
matter with my counselor and taking standardized tests. I was advised to 'go and try'
physics because, in the words of one counselor, ‘W r e good enough' Obediently I took
this advice and went on to graduate in physics, with honors, on schedule and armed
with the tools that would launch my career on a trajectory through graduate school, into
the industrial laboratories and. ultimately, around the earth aboard the space shuttle.
Anheuser Busch w ill mark the ob
servance ot Black History Month in-
Feb by releasing a poster saluting the
contributions o f the eight Black
Greek Lettered Organizations which
comprise the National Pan Hellenic
Council
In addition to spotlighting selected
invididual programs which the groups
have instituted to improve the quality of
hie in their community, the poster also
provides biographical data and features
the current president o f each
The organizations were singled out
"because collectively they have set the
precedents for social action, political
involvement, economic development
and humanitarian service in the Black
com m unity" said Henry H Brown,
vice president, marketing development
and affairs. Anheuser Busch
The poster is the second phase of
Anheuser Busch's effort to call atten
tion to the importance o f Black Greek
organizations Brown decided to go
with the poster after receiving more
than 25,(MM) requests for Greek-
lettered Organizations With An A fri
can Hentagc. the brochure which
launched the project
"Based upon the response to the
brochure by individuals and institu
tions, we felt that we were getting the
message across and no time seemed
more appropriate than Black History
Month to keep the momentum going,”
Brown said
Included arc Alpha Kappa Alpha.
Delta Sigma Theta, Zcta Phi Beta and
Sigma Gamma Rho sororities, along
with Alpha Phi Alpha, Kappa Alpha
Psi. Omega Psi I’hi and Phi Beta Sigma
fraternities
The Greek poster and brochure are
also part of an expanded senes o f publi
cations by Anheuser-Busch which
h ig h lig h t the richness o f A fro -
American and African history Other
publications include the Kings and
Queens o f Afnca heritage senes
Posters may he obtained by writing
Anheuser Busch Greek Poster, c/o Im
ages, P O Box J. Orangeburg, SC
29116 Shipping and handling charges
ot $1 per poster should be included for
orders less than 50 or $ 50 per poster in
quantities o f 50 or more
•
( Hcy-cwi x Urge si and tauexl gnm tng health
net w ort syxieni
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Black Greek
Poster
. • '
JOIN THE
HEALTHLINK SYSTEM
women should not be given equal rights
even though they often performed
men's work
She remained energetic and dedi
cated to the cause ot human rights until
herdeathon November 2b. 11013 Upon
learning o f her death Frederick Doug
lass remarked " A marked figure has
disappeared from the earth Venerable
tor age. distinguished tor insight into
human nature, remarkable tor indepen
deuce and courageous sell assertion,
devoted to the welfare of her race, she
has been tor the last 40 years an object
ot respect and admiration for vocial re
formers every where "
Black institutions have distinguished themselves through their
capability to transform academic potential into scholarly achievement while
simultaneously challenging the precocious appetite. If there is uncer
tainty about what area to pursue, one must choose a college that
gives the latitude to think about it and then 'go and try ’ Many
Black professionals (including myself) will readily concede
that life probably would have taken a different course if
the support structure and academic programs of a
Black institution had not been available (Though)
I do not advocate that anyone select or elimi
nate a school solely on the basis of its racial
A
makeup my support of Black colleges and
universities as competitive and indispens
able institutions is firm and unequivocal
Early one peaceful morning
in February 1984, as I blissfully floated
on the ceiling of the space shuttle Chai
lenger fast asleep, I was awakened by
music being piped up from the mission con
trol center My eyes stretched wide open in
disbelief and my face lit up with delight,
for immediately I recognized the music
as my college alma mater I glanced at
the N C AOT banner proudly affixed
to the wall, and 400 years of history
quickly raced through my mind. It
was during this charged moment of
heightened awareness that I
thanked God that through a Black
university. I had had the chance
to develop, the desire to be. and
the opportunity to do"
------------ --
GENERAL
FOODS
General F rxxl« Corporation
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