U.S. Postal Service reveals new stamp honoring John Lewis

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) on Tuesday unveiled a stamp honoring the life and legacy of the late Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.).

“Devoted to equality and justice for all Americans, Lewis spent more than 30 years in Congress steadfastly defending and building on key civil rights gains that he had helped achieve in the 1960s,” USPS said in a press release. “Even in the face of hatred and violence, as well as some 45 arrests, Lewis remained resolute in his commitment to what he liked to call ‘good trouble.’”

The stamp, set to be released in 2023, will feature a photo of Lewis that appeared in Time magazine in 2013.  

Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) urged the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee last year to release a commemorative stamp honoring the “American hero, civil rights icon, and revered citizen of Georgia,” who also served as his mentor.

Ossoff wrote to Lewis as a teenager after reading the congressman’s memoir, and Lewis offered him a volunteer internship position, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Lewis supported Ossoff’s unsuccessful bid for a Georgia House seat in 2017, as well as his successful 2020 campaign for Senate. 

Lewis died in July 2020 after battling pancreatic cancer for nearly a year.