Remembering Selma

L to R: Deputy Postmaster General Ronald Stroman; and Alabama Manager, Marketing Bridgett Carroll; Manager, Consumer and Industry Contact April Williams, District Manager Mary Sullivan, and Acting Senior Plant Manager Scott Bower. Photo: Marvin Owens (who also designed the commemorative envelope)

Deputy Postmaster General Ronald A. Stroman received thunderous applause as he unveiled an enlargement of a commemorative envelope recognizing the 50^th anniversary of the Selma-to-Montgomery March for Voting Rights at the Bridge Crossing Jubilee’s Freedom Flames Awards Gala in Selma, AL.

Each year the city of Selma commemorates the anniversary of the March 7, 1965 "Bloody Sunday" march. Fifty years ago, state troopers used billy clubs and tear gas on 600 Civil Rights marchers who attempted to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge. The march gave traction to the Civil Rights Movement and led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that ensured African Americans the right to vote.

At the March 7^th gala, Alabama District Manager Mary A. Sullivan, A/Senior Manager Scott R. Bower, Marketing Manager Bridgett Carroll, and Manager Consumer and Industry Contact April Williams joined the DPMG on stage for the unveiling.  Also on stage were Civil Rights related stamps --- Rosa Parks, the Edmund Pettus Bridge and March on Washington.

“Stamps have been called our nation’s calling cards as each one tells a story about the history, heritage, and heroes that shape our country,” the DPMG told an audience of 1,200 guests that included Congressional members, local dignitaries and Civil Rights activists, and entertainers. “Our Black Heritage series has helped educate the public about the achievements of Dr. King, Rosa Parks, Jackie Robinson, Thurgood Marshall, Shirley Chisholm, and many others.”

Stroman also spoke of the U.S. Postal Service’s role as a gateway to the middle class --- offering African Americans careers in the organization in the early 20^th century --- to becoming a leading employer of African Americans, who comprise almost one quarter of the workforce.

“It’s a source of tremendous pride for us --- and it’s one of the reasons we’ve made diversity a cornerstone of our work in other areas,” said Stroman.

Alabama employee Marvin Owens designed the commemorative envelope --- a near sellout during the gala and at the postal booth --- will be available in select Alabama Post Offices. The Robert Robinson Taylor stamp and other Black Heritage related philatelic items also were popular items at the postal booth.

President Barack Obama and family, along with former President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, were among the thousands of people who visited Selma this weekend.  U.S. Representative John Lewis, one of the demonstrators bloodied by troopers 50 years ago, joined President Obama and nearly 100 members of Congress at the Edmund Pettus Bridge to commemorate “Bloody Sunday.”