Gwen Ifill, a Simmons University alumna, groundbreaking journalist, and PBS “NewsHour” host who died in 2016, will be honored with a Forever Stamp, according to the Postal Service.
A photograph of Ifill will be featured on the 43rd stamp in the Black Heritage series. The stamp was designed by Postal Service art director Derry Noyes and features a 2008 photograph taken by Robert Severi.
“Among the first African- Americans to hold prominent positions in both broadcast and print journalism, Ifill was a trailblazer in the profession,” the USPS said in a statement.
Ifill covered the White House, Congress, and national campaigns during three decades for The Washington Post, The New York Times, and NBC.
In 2013, she was named coanchor of PBS “NewsHour” with Judy Woodruff. They were the first all-female anchor team on network news.
Ifill got her communication degree from Simmons in 1977 and was the school’s commencement speaker in 2009.
Material from the New York Times was used in this report.