Pompano Celebrates Black History

Black History Month, observed each February, is a time to celebrate the heritage of African-Americans and their contributions to the nation. This year, Miami Maintenance Support Clerk Linda Patrick invited the Postal Service to the Rock Road Restoration Historical Group, Inc. to praise those entrepreneurs who helped to build the area in Pompano-Pompano Beach, west of the Florida East Coast Railroad (FECR).

During the ceremony, Pompano Manager, Customer Service Operations Frank Mariano and Coral Springs A/Manager, Customer Services Richard Elam dedicated a stamp enlargement of Richard Allen, founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, to the Rock Road Restoration Historical Group, Inc. Smaller enlargements were presented to the entrepreneurs.  

Allen was a preacher, activist and civic leader and was honored for his inspirational life and profound contribution to American history. The stamp is the 39th in the Postal Service’s Black Heritage stamp series, which began in 1978 with a stamp honoring abolitionist Harriet Tubman. This year's stamp issue coincides with the 200th anniversary of Allen’s founding of the African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church, considered one of the most important institutions in African American life, and Allen’s election and consecration as A.M.E.’s first bishop.

L to R: Pompano Beach Mayor Lamar Fisher; Pompano Manager, Customer Service Operations Frank Mariano; Deacon Edgar Goodrum; Deacon Eugene Peterson; Miami Maintenance Support Clerk Linda Patrick; President Rock Road Restoration Historical Group, Inc. Derrick Phillips; Community Activist Hazel Armbrister; and Coral Springs Branch A/Manager, Customer Services Richard Elam.

From left: Community members Lula Clark, Willie Clark, and Pompano Manager, Customer Service Operations Frank Mariano. 

Photos: Fort Lauderdale Customer Relations Coordinator Kelly Worthman