The City of Mount Vernon joined with the U.S. Postal Service on Feb. 25 for its annual Black Heritage Stamp dedication. The 43rd stamp in the Black Heritage Series honors Gwen Ifill (1955-2016), one of America’s most esteemed journalists.
The stamp features a photo of Ifill taken in 2008 by photographer Robert Severi. Among the first African-Americans to hold prominent positions in both broadcast and print journalism, Ifill was a trailblazer in the profession. Art director Derry Noyes designed the stamp.
One of the most recognizable faces in television news, former PBS anchor Ifill started as a reporter in a predominantly white, male journalism industry. Within years of her start in local news, she was covering presidential campaigns for the biggest media organizations in the country. She’s regarded as one of the most respected reporters of all time, and someone who pushed the bar forward for women of color in journalism.
Ifill started as a reporter right out of college in 1977, a time when black women were scarce in journalism. Throughout her career, which spanned three decades and seven presidential campaigns, she became one of the most respected journalists in national politics. She worked for The Boston Herald American, The Baltimore Evening Sun, The Washington Post and The New York Times, and NBC before settling down at PBS in 1999.
There, she was the host of “Washington Week” and in 2013 became part of the first all-female daily-news anchor team at “NewsHour.” She moderated presidential and vice presidential debates in 2004 and 2008.
“She had a solid voice in the community and her presence, her passion, and her posture is greatly missed,” said Mount Vernon Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard.
