The March 6h USPS Postal Bulletin indicates that this issue will be released May 22nd at a “TBD” [To Be Determined] city, but I can’t imagine any city other than San Francisco. Update on April 11th: The first-day ceremony will be at the White House, May 22.

Tech-Specs and other details added May 2nd.

Digital Color Postmark first-day cancel added May 15th.

We found the design on April 11th, although it still has not been released by the USPS. (The design was released on April 21st; see below.)

From my article from the October press preview:

There is a Harvey Milk Day each May 22nd (in 2014, it’s a Thursday), but USPS spokesman Mark Saunders doesn’t know if the stamp is tied to that date. This will be a stand-alone issue, not part of a group of four or five subjects.

From the USPS on April 11th:

Harvey Milk Forever Stamp
to be Dedicated at White House May 22

WASHINGTON — The official first-day-of-issue dedication ceremony for the Harvey Milk Forever Stamp will take place at the White House May 22.

Harvey Milk was a visionary leader who became one of the first openly gay elected officials in the U.S. when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. Milk’s achievements gave hope and confidence to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community in the United States and elsewhere at a time when the community was encountering widespread hostility and discrimination. Milk believed that government should represent all citizens, ensuring equality and providing needed services.

His remarkable career was tragically cut short nearly a year after he took office, when he and San Francisco Mayor George Moscone were assassinated.

In 2009, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama.
May 22 is Harvey Milk Day in California.

The stamp image will be previewed at a later date and a public dedication ceremony will take place in San Francisco May 28. Additional details will be forthcoming.

That “later date” for the stamp design was April 21st:

Postal Service Reveals Harvey Milk Stamp Image
May 22 Dedication Ceremony at the White House;
May 28 San Francisco Ceremony

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Postal Service officially revealed the Harvey Milk Forever Stamp today. The stamp’s official first-day-of-issue ceremony will take place May 22 at the White House.

The public is invited to attend the May 28 Harvey Milk Forever Stamp special dedication ceremony in San Francisco. Details on the time and location will be forthcoming. Customers may order the Harvey Milk stamp now at usps.com/shop for delivery following the May 22 stamp issuance.

The stamp image is based on a circa 1977 black and white photograph of Milk in front of his Castro Street Camera store in San Francisco taken by Daniel Nicoletta of Grants Pass, OR. Antonio Alcalá of Alexandria, VA, was art director for the stamp.

Harvey Milk was a visionary leader who became one of the first openly gay elected officials in the U.S. when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. Milk’s achievements gave hope and confidence to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community in the United States and elsewhere at a time when the community was encountering widespread hostility and discrimination. Milk believed that government should represent all citizens, ensuring equality and providing needed services.

His political career was tragically cut short less than a year after he took office in California when he and San Francisco Mayor George Moscone were assassinated on Nov. 27, 1978.

In 2009, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama.

From the May 1st Postal Bulletin:

On May 22, 2014, in Washington, DC, the U.S. Postal Service will issue the Harvey Milk 49-cent Forever Commemorative stamp, in one design, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) pane of 20 stamps (Item 472000).

The stamp will go on sale nationwide May 22, 2014.

With this stamp, the U.S. Postal Service honors Harvey Milk, a visionary leader who became one of the first openly gay elected officials in the United States, when he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. In the stamp art, a well-known black-and-white photograph of Milk by Daniel Nicoletta is accented at top left by a vertical strip showing the colors of the gay pride flag. Art director Antonio Alcalá designed the stamp.

How to Order the First-Day-of-Issue Postmark:
Customers have 60 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at their local Post Office, at The Postal Store website at www.usps.com/shop, or by calling 800-STAMP-24. They should affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes (to themselves or others), and place them in a larger envelope addressed to:

Harvey Milk
Special Events
PO Box 92282
Washington, DC 20090-2282

After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service will return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for the postmark up to a quantity of 50. For more than 50, customers have to pay five cents each. All orders must be postmarked by July 21, 2014.

There are nine philatelic products for this stamp issue.

• 472006, Press Sheet w/ Die cut, $117.60 (print quantity 1,000).
• 472008, Press Sheet w/o Die cut, $117.60 (print quantity 1,000).
• 472010, Keepsake w/Digital Color Postmark, $11.95.
• 472016, First-Day Cover, $0.93.
• 472021, Digital Color Postmark, $1.64.
• 472024, Framed Art, $39.95.
• 472030, Ceremony Program, $6.95.
• 472031, Stamp Deck Card, $0.95.
• 472032, Stamp Deck Card w/Digital Color Postmark. $1.99.

 

Technical Specifications:
Issue: Harvey Milk Stamp
Item Number: 472000
Denomination & Type of Issue: First-Class Mail Forever Commemorative
Format: Pane of 20 (1 design)
Series: N/A
Issue Date & City: May 22, 2014, Washington, DC 20066
Designer: Antonio Alcalá, Alexandria, VA
Art Director: Antonio Alcalá, Alexandria, VA
Typographer: Antonio Alcalá, Alexandria, VA
Engraver: N/A
Modeler: Donald Woo
Manufacturing Process: Offset/Microprint
Printer: Banknote Corporation of America/SSP
Printed at: Browns Summit, NC
Press Type: Alprinta 74
Stamps per Pane: 20
Print Quantity: 30 million stamps
Paper Type: Overall Phosphor Tagged Paper
Adhesive Type: Pressure sensitive adhesive
Processed at: Banknote Corporation of America, Browns Summit SC
Colors: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black
Stamp Orientation: Vertical
Image Area (w x h): 0.82 x 1.42 in./20.83 x 36.07 mm
Overall Size (w x h): 0.98 x 1.56 in./24.89 x 39.62 mm
Full Pane Size (w x h): 5.92 x 7.40 in./150.36 x 187.96 mm
Press Sheets Size (w x h): 23.68 x 21.72 in./601.47 x 551.69 mm
Plate Size: 240 stamps per revolution
Plate Numbers: “S” followed by 1111 (4) single digits
Marginal Markings:
Front: Plate numbers in four corners of pane
Back: © 2014 USPS • USPS logo • Plate position diagram • Barcode (472000) in upper right and lower left corners of pane • Promotional text • Harvey Milk’s Bio • HARVEY MILK Licensed by the Harvey Milk Foundation

And a photo from the unveiling of the stamp design during the White House first day ceremony:

From left to right, Rep. Mark Takano, Singer Mary Lambert, The honorable Evan Low, Rep.  John Lewis, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Stuart Milk, Deputy Postmaster General Ronald Stroman, UN Ambassador Samantha Power, Sen. Tammy Baldwin, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Anne Kronenberg, Torey Carter, Rep. Mark Pocan. USPS photo by Daniel Afzal