Halifax Community College will host a stamp dedication in conjunction with the U.S. Postal Service as part of Black History Month festivities Wednesday. The event, which dedicates the stamp honoring Richard Allen, founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, is free and open to the public. It begins at 11 a.m. at The Centre. A reception will follow.

Weldon Postmaster Andrea Green will be the dedicating official for the event.

Allen was a preacher, activist, and civic leader who lived from 1760 to 1831.

The stamp coincides with the 200th anniversary of Allen’s founding of the AME Church as well as his election as its first bishop. The stamp art is a portrait of Allen, a detail from an 1876 print titled “Bishops of the AME Church.” Featuring Allen in the center surrounded by ten other bishops and six historical vignettes, the print is from the collection of the Library Company of Philadelphia.

A First-Day-of-Issue ceremony for the Allen stamp will take place at the Mother Bethel AME Church in Philadelphia on Tuesday, which will also mark the first day the stamp will be available for purchase nationwide.

The Allen stamp is being issued as a Forever Stamp. Forever Stamps are always equal in value to the current First-Class Mail one-ounce rate.

For more information about this event, contact Dianne Rhoades at 252-536-7239.