A stamp honoring Georgia Congressman John Lewis, who died of pancreatic cancer in 2020, will be available for purchase next year, the U.S. Postal Service announced Tuesday.
The preliminary design for the Lewis stamp uses a photograph of him from the Aug. 26, 2013, issue of Time magazine. The then-73-year-old lawmaker is wearing a dark suit and blue tie and staring straight into the camera.
The margin paper, also known as selvage, will showcase a second photograph of Lewis taken in 1963 in Clarksdale, Mississippi, as he was conducting workshops on nonviolent protests.
The news release from the Postal Service said the stamp is designed to honor how Lewis lived and the legacy he left behind as a civil rights leader and notable political figure.
“Devoted to equality and justice for all Americans, Lewis spent more than 30 years in Congress steadfastly defending and building on key civil rights gains that he had helped achieve in the 1960s,” the release said. “Even in the face of hatred and violence, as well as some 45 arrests, Lewis remained resolute in his commitment to what he liked to call ‘good trouble.’”
Last year, U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff wrote a letter to the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee advocating for a stamp in Lewis’ honor. Ossoff interned for Lewis as a teenager and later was mentored by him as he began his own political career.
“His courage serves as an extraordinary example of civic leadership and continues to inspire young Americans to serve their communities and build a better world,” Ossoff wrote.
Other stamps scheduled for 2023 releases will honor Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, author Toni Morrison, American institutions like the Florida Everglades, and pastimes like skateboarding.
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