Finallky, Malcolm X stamps in planning
There was time when the idea of a postage stamp forMalcolm X, one of most controversial African American
leaders of the 1960s, would have never made it out of the
U.S. Postal Service's conservative bureaucracy.
But yesterday, when plans for the stamp were announced,
there was much praise for it.
Groups such as the Anti-Defamation League and B'nai B'rith
International, which had been highly critical of Malcolm X
when he preached racial separatism, welcomed the decision.
His former critics noted, however, that Malcolm X had made
an abrupt change late in his life and began advocating what
the Postal Service described as "a more integrationist solution
to racial problems" before he was murdered in 1965.
Richard D. Heideman, president of B'nai B'rith International,
said the stamp should "remind all Americans of the possibility
of change and reconciliation between people previously divided
by racial hatred."
Roger Wilkins, a history professor at George Mason
University who has written extensively about the civil
rights movement, said Malcolm X deserves the honor
because he was a major African American leader who
did much to create pride among blacks. His transformation
from a leader who said "outrageous things" to one who
preached racial harmony "speaks volumes about the
human spirit," Wilkins said.
Malcolm X is the 22nd person to be honored on the
Postal Service's Black Heritage Series. The new 33-cent
stamp, which features a news photograph of Malcolm X,
will be issued early next year.
-- Bill McAllister - 11/23/98