New Stamp Honors the First African-American MIT Graduate

Photo provided.

Robert Robinson Taylor, who is the first African American graduate of MIT and believed to be the nation’s first academically trained black architect, was inducted into the Postal Service’s Black Heritage Stamp series, which has previously honored Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Harriet Tubman, Jackie Robinson, and other African American leaders.

The stamp, designed by artist Derry Noyes, depicts a black-and-white photograph of Taylor taken when he was 22 years old and a student at MIT. It is the 38th in the series.

MIT President Dr. Rafael Reif  joined in dedicating the stamp in a ceremony which took place at the Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum on February 12th.

Taylor was born June 6, 1868, in Wilmington, NC. His father was a former slave who had become a successful carpenter and contractor. Taylor learned construction from his father, and moved to Boston in 1888 to study in the architecture program at MIT. He went on to teach and develop curriculum at Alabama’s Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute, and to lead in the design of numerous projects and buildings throughout his career.

The Robert Robinson Taylor stamp is being issued as a Forever stamp, which is always equal in value to the current First-Class Mail 1-ounce price.

Stamps are available for purchase at post offices nationwide and at usps.com/stamps.