Lena Horne stamp ceremony in Manhattan

By Michael Baadke

The upcoming United States stamp celebrating entertainer Lena Horne (1917-2010) will be issued Jan. 30 in New York City.

A first-day ceremony is planned for 10:30 a.m. at the Peter Norton Symphony Space, a performance venue on Manhattan's upper west side at 2537 Broadway.

Although the event is free, according to a listing on the Symphony Space online event calendar, a reservation is required to attend. The Postal Service will provide tickets for the ceremony and will release reservation confirmation details at a later date.

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The nondenominated (50¢) forever stamp is the 41st issue in the long-running Black Heritage commemorative series.

"Lena Horne was a trailblazer in Hollywood for women of color and used her fame as an entertainer to become an important civil rights spokesperson," the Postal Service said in its Dec. 28 press release.

The stamp design was created by colorizing a black and white photograph of Horne by Christian Steiner and adding a new background. USPS art director Ethel Kessler designed the stamp.