For Immediate Release

	April 1, 2003 CELEBRATE BLACK HISTORY-YEAR 'ROUND WASHINGTON - Black history is too vast to be relegated to a single month. It's 365 days a year. The U.S. Postal Service recognizes that fact and is proud to introduce two new handsome collectibles featuring Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall and the complete Black Heritage Series Stamp Collection. The first African American Supreme Court Justice, Thurgood Marshall now appears on a postage stamp, which was issued Jan. 7. The Thurgood Marshall Framed Art collectible is framed in a pewter toned frame measuring 16" X 16 ½", double matted with black textured primary matte and a silver secondary matte featuring a blow up of the Thurgood Marshall stamp, and a block of four actual stamps with a silver plaque that reads, "Thurgood Marshall First African American Supreme Court Justice". Celebrating 26 years of the Black Heritage Series Stamp Collection, a special framed collectible features quality stamps of each member of the Black Heritage Series, mounted on an archival quality black matte with a commemorative plaque. The stamps are surrounded by an archival quality cream colored matte overlay, covered with high-impact Lexan acrylic face and framed with a "stepped edge" 14" X 18" mahogany toned wood frame. The following outstanding African Americans have been honored in the Black Heritage Series: Harriet Tubman, Martin Luther King Jr., Benjamin Banneker, Whitney Moore Young, Jackie Robinson, Scott Joplin, Carter G. Woodson, Mary McLeod Bethune, Sojourner Truth, Jean Baptiste pointe Du Sable, James Weldon Johnson, A. Philip Randolph, Ida B. Wells, Jan. E. Matzeliger, W.E.B. Du Bois, Percy Lavon Julian, Dr. Allison Davis, Bessie Coleman, Ernest E. Just, Benjamin O. Davis Sr., Madam C.J. Walker, Malcolm X, Patricia Roberts Harris, Roy Wilkins, Langston Hughes and Thurgood Marshall. Both collectibles make handsome displays in the home or office. They will arrive with a hand-numbered Certificate of Authenticity and a hand-numbered Seal of Authenticity. To order, visit the Postal Service's website www.usps.com/shop. http://www.usps.com/news/2002/philatelic/sr02_049.htm http://www.usps.com/news/facts/lfu_080102.htm