The Kwanzaa Stamp

The name Kwanzaa means “first fruit of the harvest”, or more traditionally, “first fruit”. The United States Postal Service (USPS) began commemorating Kwanzaa with a series of stamps, starting with a design first issued in 1997. They continued this tradition, releasing six uniquely designed Kwanzaa stamps from 2004 to 2016. The 2020 Kwanzaa forever stamp won first place in the invitations/announcements category of the 2022 Print Awards. The stamp’s art was directed by Antonio Alcalá and illustrated by Andrea Pippins. The awards ceremony was held at the One Club for Creativity in New York in 2022.