Valerie Jarrett, the daughter of Barbara Bowman who is an interviewee for the documentary, comes from a rich legacy. In addition to being top aide to President Obama, she is the great-granddaughter of Robert Robinson Taylor, who most believe is the first African-American to graduate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, (MIT) and one of the first black architects in the country.
On February 12th, he was officially honored as the next face that will be shown on the Black Heritage stamp at the National Postal Museum in Washington, DC. According to The Washington Post, the ceremony featured the Howard Singers from Howard University, a historically black university that has educated some Rosenwald grant recipients. A’Lelia Bundles, who is also an interviewee in the documentary and great-granddaughter of Madame CJ Walker, was the MC at this event.
There is also a new exhibit titled “Freedom Just Around the Corner: Black America from Civil War to Civil Rights,” that opened yesterday and will run until February 15th, 2016. Described by the museum as “A chronicle of the African American experience told from the perspective of stamps and mail,” the exhibit will surely be a treat for those who want to know about black history in America from a different perspective.
For more information about to the National Postal Museum, go to: http://postalmuseum.si.edu/.
Photograph of Robert Robinson Taylor’s stamp
Photo Source: www.stampnewsnow.com
Erica Marshall, Winter Intern