Gwen Ifill Honored with Black Heritage Forever Stamp 3 Years After Her Death
Over three years after her death, Gwen Ifill is being honored for her legacy as a pioneering journalist.
In honor of Black History Month kicking off this weekend, the U.S. Postal Service issued the 43rd Black Heritage stamp to Ifill on Thursday at the Metropolitan African Methodist Church in New York City.
Ifill is now the most recent recipient of the Black Heritage stamp, joining a list of historical icons including Harriet Tubman, Jackie Robinson, Martin Luther King Jr., Billie Holiday, and Gregory Hines.
Ifill’s cousin Sherrilyn Ifill, president of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, tweeted about her cousin’s honor, writing, “Today is the day!!! I could not be more proud or excited. A dream come true. #GwenIfillForever.”
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser speaks to proclaim today in Washington DC, Jan 30 2020, as Gwen Ifill Day during a stamp dedication ceremony at @MetropolitanAME. #GwenIfillForever pic.twitter.com/HvmxMlO10j
— U.S. Postal Service (@USPS) January 30, 2020
Today is the day!!! I could not be more proud or excited. A dream come true. #GwenIfillForever https://t.co/tUtLhi86Vp
— Sherrilyn Ifill (@Sifill_LDF) January 30, 2020
RELATED: PBS’ Gwen Ifill Has Died at 61
After graduating college in 1977, Ifill landed jobs at the Boston Herald-American, The Baltimore Evening Sun, The Washington Post, and the New York Times, per the U.S. Postal Service’s tweets.
In 1994, she started a broadcast job at NBC, covering politics in Washington D.C. Five years later, she joined PBS as a moderator and managing editor of Washington Week, thus becoming the first black woman to host a major television news-analysis show.
During her career, Ifill moderated two vice-presidential debates, between John Edwards and Dick Cheney in 2004, and one between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin in 2008, as well as a 2016 Democratic primary debate in which she co-moderated with fellow PBS anchor Judy Woodruff.
Ifill died at 61 years old in November 2016 after several months of cancer treatment, PBS confirmed at the time. In a statement, the network called Ifill “one of America’s leading lights in journalism.”
Prior to her passing, Ifill took unspecified time off for health reasons. She had previously been out of work for two months and hadn’t revealed the details surrounding her illness.
Following her death, tributes poured in for the journalist on Twitter from many public figures, including Katie Couric, Tamron Hall, Nancy Pelosi, Donna Brazile, and Chuck Todd.
