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2026 First-Class Forever Stamp,Black Heritage: Phillis Wheatley
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2026 Phillis Wheatley
- Honors first African American published author
- 49th addition to Black Heritage Series
Stamp Category: Commemorative
Set: Black Heritage
Value: 78¢, First Class Mail Rate (Forever)
First Day of Issue: January 29, 2026
First Day City: Boston, Massachusetts
Quantity Issued: 25,000,000
Printed by: Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd.
Printing Method: Offset, Microprint
Format: Pane of 20
Why the stamp was issued: The stamp honors the first African in America to have her poetry published.
About the stamp design: A portrait of Wheatley by artist Kerry James Marshall was used for the stamp design.
First Day City: The First Day of Issue ceremony took place at the Old South Meeting House in Boston, Massachusetts. Wheatley was brought to Boston as a slave.
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 2024, it was the USPS’s longest-running stamp series of all time.
History the stamp represents: Phillis Wheatley has been called the Poet Laureate of the American Revolution. At a time when the new nation was still forming its identity, her poetry spoke in a refined, confident voice that reached leaders on both sides of the Atlantic. Her work engaged directly with the ideas shaping the era, including liberty, faith, and moral responsibility, earning her recognition as one of America’s earliest published poets.
Born around 1753 in West Africa, Wheatley was kidnapped and brought to Boston in 1761. Enslaved by the Wheatley family who recognized her literary talent and love for learning, they offered her an education. Studying English, Latin, Greek, the Bible, and classical poetry shaped her formal style and precise language.
In 1773, Wheatley published Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, becoming the first African American woman to publish a book of poetry. Her poems used light, angels, and religious language familiar to Revolutionary readers to support the idea that liberty was guided by a higher moral purpose. Her use of imagery depicting chains and captivity highlighted the tension between America’s call for freedom and her own status as a slave. She also wrote of Africa, a subject rarely seen in the poetry of her time.
Fittingly, Wheatley joins the Black Heritage Series in 2026, coinciding with America’s 250th anniversary.
2026 Phillis Wheatley
- Honors first African American published author
- 49th addition to Black Heritage Series
Stamp Category: Commemorative
Set: Black Heritage
Value: 78¢, First Class Mail Rate (Forever)
First Day of Issue: January 29, 2026
First Day City: Boston, Massachusetts
Quantity Issued: 25,000,000
Printed by: Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd.
Printing Method: Offset, Microprint
Format: Pane of 20
Why the stamp was issued: The stamp honors the first African in America to have her poetry published.
About the stamp design: A portrait of Wheatley by artist Kerry James Marshall was used for the stamp design.
First Day City: The First Day of Issue ceremony took place at the Old South Meeting House in Boston, Massachusetts. Wheatley was brought to Boston as a slave.
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 2024, it was the USPS’s longest-running stamp series of all time.
History the stamp represents: Phillis Wheatley has been called the Poet Laureate of the American Revolution. At a time when the new nation was still forming its identity, her poetry spoke in a refined, confident voice that reached leaders on both sides of the Atlantic. Her work engaged directly with the ideas shaping the era, including liberty, faith, and moral responsibility, earning her recognition as one of America’s earliest published poets.
Born around 1753 in West Africa, Wheatley was kidnapped and brought to Boston in 1761. Enslaved by the Wheatley family who recognized her literary talent and love for learning, they offered her an education. Studying English, Latin, Greek, the Bible, and classical poetry shaped her formal style and precise language.
In 1773, Wheatley published Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, becoming the first African American woman to publish a book of poetry. Her poems used light, angels, and religious language familiar to Revolutionary readers to support the idea that liberty was guided by a higher moral purpose. Her use of imagery depicting chains and captivity highlighted the tension between America’s call for freedom and her own status as a slave. She also wrote of Africa, a subject rarely seen in the poetry of her time.
Fittingly, Wheatley joins the Black Heritage Series in 2026, coinciding with America’s 250th anniversary.
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