WELDON — “We are here to pay homage to two remarkable human beings, two clear examples of why Black History Month was created in the first place: to bring to light the lives, the sacrifices and the courage some of our fellow Americans displayed to make life easier for many of the rest of us,” said Carl A. Walton, Greensboro district communications coordinator for the United States Postal Service.

Jacqueline Hough | The Daily Herald Frank Avent III, vice chairman of the Halifax Community College (HCC) Board of Trustees, and Carl A. Walton, Greensboro district communications coordinator for the United States Postal Service, talk after the fourth annual stamp dedication at HCC Thursday morning. Doris Miller and Anna Julia Cooper were honored pictured on the stamps. Advertisement

The fourth annual stamp dedication kicked off Black History Month activities at Halifax Community College Thursday morning.

Cooper is the 32nd person honored in the Black Heritage Series. She was an educator, scholar, feminist and activist who gave voice to the African-American community during the 19th and 20th centuries, from the end of slavery to the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement.

Also honored during the program with a stamp was Doris Miller, the first black American hero of World War II.

Walton said, “Anna Julia Cooper once said, ‘ The cause of freedom is not the cause of a race or a sect, a party or a class — it is the cause of human kind, the very birthright of humanity.’”

He added, those same words can be found in the last few pages of every United States passport, as it represents what every American enjoys and should never take for granted — our very own freedom.

“Anna Julia wasn’t subdued by the color of her skin, her gender, her lack of opportunity or lack of wealth,” Walton said. “She held an instinctive awareness that by the virtue of being human, she was entitled to freely know the world and participate in everything it had to offer.”

Walton stated some of Cooper’s accomplishments:

• Being one of the first African-American women to graduate from Oberlin College in Ohio in 1884.

• In 1892, she published “A Voice from the South by a Black Woman of the South,” the first book-length volume of black feminist analysis in the United States.

• Creating clubs and associations in the late 19th century dedicated to the interests and well-being of the African-American community because white women routinely excluded them from the growing feminist movement.

“These are just some of the highlights of a hero to so many people over the course of a lifetime,” Walton said. “Now, let’s take a look at another person whose life was cut short far too early, yet was no less a hero of the highest order.”

At the same time of Cooper’s dedication, a national dedication ceremony for the Distinguished Sailors collectable stamps took place at the United States Navy Memorial for Doris “Dorie” Miller and three other sailors.

Walton recognized Miller during his remarks. Miller  was serving aboard the battleship named “West Virginia,” stationed at Pearl Harbor when it was attacked by the Japanese. He helped to rescue shipmates and helped to move the ship’s captain.

“After getting the captain to shelter, Miller took over an unattended 50-caliber machine gun nearby and maintained fire upon Japanese aircraft, even though he was never trained to do so,” Walton said.

In 1942, Miller became the first African-American to receive the Navy Cross for courage. On Nov. 24, 1943, he was killed in action when a Japanese submarine torpedoed and sank the ship he was assigned to, the Liscome Bay, during the invasion of the Gilbert Islands. Miller’s body was lost at sea.

The Black Heritage stamp series began in 1978 with the Harriet Tubman stamp.

“The series was created to ensure the contributions of African-Americans in this country would be represented at least once each year and it has inspired stamps of great prominence ever since,” Walton said.

In addition to being the 32nd entry for the Black Heritage Series, Cooper is also the 141st person, incident or subject of an African-American theme since 1940.

Miller’s stamp, not a part of the Black Heritage series, is the first of several stamps of people or images depicting African-American life and/or culture to be issued in 2010.

“Now 125 million impressions of this remarkable woman carry your cards and letters across the world,” Walton said. “Another 60 million Distinguished Sailors stamps will begin carrying cards and letters today.”

Sylvia R. Wheeler, an HCC cosmetology student, said it was her first time attending a stamp dedication. “It gave me a sense of self-respect and pride in my heritage,” she said.

Wheeler said she had heard about Miller from her father, a World War II veteran, but had never heard of Cooper. “The information was very informative,” she said. She added it inspired her to do more research about her family and others.

Dr. Stanley Edwards, chairman of the HCC board of trustees, said this was always a good time of the year for him. “We are honoring people who have made significant contributions to society,” he said.

Frank Avent III, vice chairman of the HCC board of trustees, said everyone, particularly African-Americans should be proud of their heritage. “Be proud of who you are, but let your heritage be proud of you,” he said. “Don’t let it stop at the end of February.”

HCC President Dr. Ervin V. Griffin Sr. presented Walton with the President’s Award for his contributions to HCC. Walton presented Griffin with a copy of Cooper’s stamp.