There are many important black Americans in history. You may have read about freedom fighter Harriet Tubman. You have likely learned about leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. Of course, there are endless artists, athletes, and scientists, too. However, you might not know about the impact of African Americans in the field of journalism.

For Black History Month, the U.S. Postal Service created a special stamp. On it is the face of a woman named Gwen Ifill. Her biography may not fill the pages of your school textbooks. Yet Ifill played a role in the story of African Americans in U.S. history.

Ifill was a reporter for some of America’s top newspapers. Those include The New York Times and The Washington Post. She was a TV newscaster for NBC and PBS. She also moderated the debates for vice president in 2004 and 2008. She was the first black woman to do that.

Maurice DuBois is the CBS anchor in New York City. “Gwen Ifill was among the best of the best in journalism,” he told News-O-Matic. “She was always well-prepared, and she asked tough questions,” added DuBois. And the newsman listed another reason Ifill was so good at her work: “She was a great listener.”

Cheryl Wills is also a news anchor in New York. She and Ifill both grew up in an area of the city called Queens. Wills said she felt “pride” watching Ifill moderate a debate on television. “I knew the sky was the limit, not only for me but for all African American journalists,” she told News-O-Matic. “Gwen Ifill was a trailblazer in the truest sense of the word.”

Ifill died in 2016 at the age of 61. But four years later, her family members said they are “thrilled” to see her on a stamp. They attended the U.S. Postal Service’s ceremony in Washington, D.C.

Ifill’s brother Bert called the stamp a “tribute to her legacy as a truth-teller.” He added that Ifill was driven by “getting the story right and getting the right story out.”


Updated February 11, 2020, 5:02 P.M. (ET)
By Russell Kahn (Russ)