WSSU Event Honors Cooper, NC Native and Pioneer for Women History Month

Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) will join with the U.S. Postal Service for a Women’s History Month event, to pay tribute to North Carolinian Anna Julia Cooper with a special stamp dedication event on March 29 at 3 p.m. In WSSU’s Diggs Gallery.

Cooper was a Raleigh Native and noted educator, scholar and activist on the 19th and 20th centuries. Her image marks the 32nd entry in the U.S. Black Heritage Stamps series.

WSSU Chancellor Donald Julian Reaves and Postmaster David Barcio will lead a host of university, local and student dignitaries on hand to celebrate the life of Cooper, who left Saint Augustine’s College in 1884 for Washington, DC, and helped make its school system one of the best in the nation for African-American students.

Anna Julia Cooper

She later became the fourth African-American woman to earn a Ph.D. and the first to do so at the University of Paris Sorbonne. She wrote several books and articles and spoke publicly about inequalities in education, job opportunities and the justice system. The stamps are now available at Post Offices nationwide and online at www.usps.com/shop. These stamps, as well as related collectible items, will be available for purchase at this event, which is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served. For more information, call (336) 668-1257. About the U.S. Postal Service: An independent federal agency, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 149 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes, six days a week.

It has 34,000 retail locations and relies on the sale of postage, products and services, not tax dollars, to pay for operating expenses. Named the Most Trusted Government Agency five consecutive years by the Ponemon Institute, the Postal Service has annual revenue of $75 billion and delivers nearly half the world’s mail.

About Winston-Salem State University: Winston-Salem State University (WSSU), a constituent institution of the University of North Carolina, is a public university founded in 1892 in Winston-Salem, NC. WSSU is a historically black university that today is a recognized regional institution offering baccalaureate and graduate programs to a diverse student population. U.S. News and World Report has ranked the university among Top Public Comprehensive Colleges in the South -- Bachelor’s Category for the last ten years (2001-2010). WSSU currently offers more than 40 baccalaureate and 10 master’s degree programs to a student population of more than 6,400. For more information, visit www.wssu.edu. * * *

Contacts: Nancy Young Interim Director Public and Media Relations 336-750-8764 (office) 336-413-1472 (mobile) youngnn@wssu.edu

Aaron Singleton Director News and Media Relations 336-750-3152 (office) 336-414-9366 (mobile) singletona@wssu.edu