Kicking off activities for the 2013 Lyceum Series of Special Events at Halifax Community College (HCC) will be a United States Postal Service Stamp Dedication on Tuesday, Feb. 5 at 11 a.m. in The Centre. The event is free and open to the public. This year, stamps in honor of Rosa Parks and the Emancipation Proclamation will be dedicated.

The U.S. Postal Service 2013 Rosa Parks (Forever®) stamp honors the life of this extraordinary American activist who became an iconic figure in the civil rights movement. In 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks courageously refused to give up her seat on a municipal bus to a white man, defying the discriminatory laws of the time.

The stamp art, a gouache painting on illustration board, is a portrait of Parks emphasizing her quiet strength. A 1950s photograph served as the basis for the stamp portrait.

The response to Parks's arrest was a boycott of the Montgomery bus system that lasted for more than a year and became an international cause célèbre. In 1956, in a related case, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed that segregating Montgomery buses was unconstitutional.

Soon after the boycott ended, Parks moved to Detroit, Michigan. She joined the 1963 march on Washington and returned to Alabama in 1965 to join the march from Selma to Montgomery. The many honors Parks received in her lifetime include the Presidential Medal of Freedom (1966), the Spingarn Medal (1979) and the Congressional Gold Medal (1999). Upon her death in 2005, she became the first woman and second African American to lie in honor in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C.

Artist Thomas Blackshear II created an original painting for the stamp, which was designed by art director Derry Noyes.

The stamp honoring Rosa Parks is one of three stamps in the civil rights set celebrating freedom, courage and equality being issued in 2013. It is being issued as a Forever® stamp. Forever stamps are always equal in value to the current First-Class Mail one-ounce rate. Issue Date: Feb. 4, 2013.

The U.S. Postal Service also commemorates the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. The proclamation, signed by President Abraham Lincoln on Jan. 1, 1863, declared that all slaves in the rebel states to be free. To commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, the Postal Service introduced a limited-edition Forever Stamp at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., which houses the historic document.

With the Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln made the freedom for slaves an explicit goal of the Civil War. The proclamation also authorized the recruitment of black soldiers into the Union Army. Their courage and contributions to the Union's ultimate victory greatly influenced the 13th Amendment to the constitution, outlawing slavery forever.

Art Director Antonio Alcalá and Designer Gail Anderson evoked the look of the Civil War era. They chose the phrase "Henceforward Shall Be Free" from the Emancipation Proclamation. Hatch Show Print of Nashville, Tennessee, one of the oldest working letterpress print shops in America, recreated the poster style of the time. Issue Date: Jan. 1, 2013

More details on these stamps can be found at https://www.usps.com/.

For more information on the 2013 HCC Lyceum Series of Special Events, visit http://www.halifaxcc.edu/lyceum/. To receive notifications of HCC events and events held at The Centre, visit http://halifaxcc.edu/getevents.htm. This event is funded in part by the U.S. Department of Education PBI Formula Grant.

The awards ceremony honors local African-American citizens and students who have made significant contributions in the local community. Check www.halifaxcc.edu or contact Cindy Collins at 252-536-7222, collinsc@halifaxcc.edu for information on the nomination process. The deadline for nominations is Feb. 1.

The musical, written and compiled by HCC Communications Instructor Sharon W. Askew, is an exhilarating collaboration of acting, dancing and singing that portrays the plight of African-Americans in America. It depicts their determination for change in ways that will mesmerize the audience with old gospel hymns, modern dance and astounding expressions of the horrendous cost of freedom.

Foods from around the world and various cultures will be featured. International attire will also be worn. Cultural demonstrations will kick off the event, featuring campus and community members sharing information about their respective cultures. Admission is $2 per plate for the food tasting.

The event focuses on minority male leadership and includes sessions for students as well as professional educators.

HCC hosts International Day & Food Tasting
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International Day & Food Tasting event slated for Feb. 28 at HCC
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Eight to be honored at HCC African-American Heroes event, Feb. 21
Parks, Emancipation Proclamation stamps unveiled at United States Postal Service Stamp Dedication at Halifax Community College
HCC to host 2013 Lyceum Series of Special Events, starting Feb. 5
United States Postal Service Stamp Dedication kicks off 2013 Lyceum Series of Special Events at HCC