1998 32c Black Heritage: Madam C. J. Walker

US #3181
1998 Madam C. J. Walker

• 21st stamp in Black Heritage series
• Pictures first black female millionaire

Stamp Category:  Commemorative
Set:  Black Heritage
Value:  32¢, First Class Mail Rate
First Day of Issue:  January 28, 1998
First Day City:  Indianapolis, Indiana
Quantity Issued:  45,000,000
Printed by:  Banknote Corporation of America
Printing Method:  Offset, microprinted
Format:  Pane of 20
Perforations :  Die Cut 11.6 X 11.3

Why the stamp was issued:  This 21^st stamp in the Black Heritage series honors Madam C.J. Walker, a pioneer in hair and beauty care.

About the stamp design:  The Walker stamp is based on a photo taken about 1914.  The picture was often used in publicity materials for her company.   

Special design details:  A microprinted “USPS” is hidden in the folds of Walker’s sleeve.

First Day City:  The ceremony celebrating the release of the Madam Walker stamp took place at the madam Walker Theatre Center in Indianapolis, Indiana.  Actress Cicely Tyson and Walker’s great-great granddaughter spoke during the ceremony.

About the Black Heritage Series:  The Black Heritage Series began on February 1, 1978, with the issue of the 13¢ Harriet Tubman stamp (US #1744).  Since then, the USPS has issued a new stamp in the series every year.  A number of them have even been released in February in recognition of Black History month.  As of 2025, it was the USPS’s longest-running stamp series of all time.

History the stamp represents:  The 21st stamp in the Black Heritage series honors the success and generosity of a self-made businesswoman from the beginning of the 20th century.  Madam C.J. Walker is recognized for overcoming social and economic barriers.  She is also known as the first black female millionaire.
Born in 1867, Sarah Breedlove was the daughter of Louisiana sharecroppers.  She was orphaned at age six, married at fourteen, and widowed, with a two-year-old daughter, at age twenty.  She worked in the South – in cotton fields and kitchens, and then for nearly two decades as a laundress in St. Louis.  In 1905, she developed a homemade hair treatment method for black women. 
Sarah married journalist Charles J. Walker in 1906 and began using the name Madam C.J. Walker.  She went on to develop cosmetics along with other hair-care products, then hired “agents” to sell these door to door.  Her manufacturing company, which moved to Indianapolis in 1910, grew to employ over 3,000 workers.
madam Walker established beauty schools and funded scholarships.  She gave generously to the NAACP, the black YMCA, and homes for the aged.  In fact, two-thirds of her estate was left to educational and charitable institutions.