Ruth Bader Ginsburg honoured with 2023 postage stamp

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the late Supreme Court Justice, will be honored with a new postage stamp in 2023, the US Postal Service announced on Monday.

Justice Ginsburg, who died at age 87 in September 2020, will be depicted on the forever stamp “facing the viewer in her black judicial robe with an intricate white collar,” USPS said in a statement.

Her white collars became an iconic part of the late justice’s wardrobe and make her instantly recognisable in artwork and memorabilia honouring her.

“After beginning her career as an activist lawyer fighting gender discrimination, Justice Ginsburg became a respected jurist whose important majority opinions advancing equality and strong dissents on socially controversial rulings made her a passionate proponent of equal justice and an icon of American culture,” the statement said.

Justice Ginsburg was appointed to the court in 1993 by President Bill Clinton and served for years as the most senior member of the court’s liberal wing. She consistently delivered progressive votes on the most sensitive social issues of the day, including abortion rights, same-sex marriage, voting rights, immigration, health care, and affirmative action.

Other former Supreme Court justices have been featured on stamps in the past including Justice Thurgood Marshall, the first African American member of the court.

No specific date was announced for the release of the stamp, but a number of other prominent Americans will also receive the honour of being featured on a stamp in 2023.

The 46th stamp in the Black Heritage series honours author Ernest J Gaines (1933-2019), best known for such novels as The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman and A Lesson Before Dying.

Also commemorated is Chief Standing Bear (circa 1829-1908), who won a landmark court ruling in 1879 that determined that Native Americans were persons under the law with inherent rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Author Toni Morrison (1931-2019) is honoured for her artfully crafted novels exploring the diverse voices and multifaceted experiences of African Americans. Known for such books as The Bluest Eye, Song of Solomon, and Beloved, Morrison was the rare author who achieved both bestseller status and critical success. In 1993, she became the first African American woman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Other new stamp themes include the work of artist Roy Lichenstein, the Great Smoky Mountains, endangered species, railroad stations, women’s soccer, and pinatas, as well as traditional patriotic designs.