[The main article on the stamp itself is here.]

Washington, DC’s Warner Theatre was filled to capacity (listed at 1,847 people) for what some veteran first-day-ceremony-attending VSC members say was one of the best ceremonies in years. The Postal Service had anticipated and promoted the appearances of Oprah Winfrey and former Ambassador Andrew Young, but for the second Washington ceremony in a role, White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett and Attorney General Eric Holder attended, plus First Lady Michelle Obama.

Also at the ceremony were almost every African-American member of the House, two daughters of Malcolm X (who was a friend of Angelou), and Washington DC native Roberta Flack. There were also mainstream television camera crews and reporters from the non-philatelic press, such as The Washington Post, whose article is here.

Henry Louis Gates was one of the few celebrities with a tie to Angelou who wasn’t in attendance. “Henry Gates called me to tell me that his proposal for the Maya Angelou stamp was approved,” said Winfrey. Gates is a member of the USPS Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee.

There was a dance tribute by the Duke Ellington School of the Arts Dance Ensemble. The ceremony ran almost two hours.

There was no autographing line. However, one VSC member was able to obtain autographs from Young and artist Rossin on his ceremony program.

Here are the Postal Service press release and photos; there are more photos taken from the USPS video at the end (added April 11th).

[USPS press release]

Maya Angelou Receives Stamping Ovation
First Lady, Oprah Winfrey, Ambassador Andrew Young, Join Postmaster General in DedicationWASHINGTON — Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Ambassador Andrew Young and other notables joined Postmaster General Megan Brennan in dedicating the Dr. Maya Angelou Forever Stamp today. [Master of ceremonies and MSNBC talk-show host Melissa Harris Perry is shown on the right.] The ceremony took place before a capacity crowd at Washington, DC’s Warner Theatre. Angelou fans are encouraged to share the news on social media using the hashtag #MayaForever.

“Maya Angelou was an author who broke down the barriers of literary form,” said Postmaster General Megan Brennan. “Throughout her many written works, she explored themes of identity, race and displacement — and did so in a distinct style that stretched over time and place. Her stories embodied the pain of her personal struggle — but more than anything else, they epitomized the triumph of courage and the human spirit. She committed her life to ideas that elevated our sense of what it means to be human, and to advance understanding, compassion, and reconciliation.”

“She’d get a big kick out of this moment,” said Winfrey (at left). “Being honored and commemorated by the Postal Service with her own stamp, for the big, bold bodacious, life she dared to live, in a way that dazzled and gave meaning to those of us who knew her and many who didn’t.”

“Phenomenal Maya,” said Young (at right). “Rising still from Stamps, Arkansas, and in our hearts to a Forever Stamp. We’re singing your song forever, Maya.”

“Dr. Maya Angelou was a dancer, a singer, an actress, a director of film, a poet, an autobiographer, a social commentator, a teacher and an activist,” said Angelou’s son Guy Johnson. “Yet if you asked her what her life mission was, she’d answer that she had to confront injustice wherever she found it and remind each of us that we are more alike than unalike. It was her belief that every one of us has the responsibility of being our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers. For if human beings are to survive the grave difficulties that range from ethnic hatred and religious conflict to the destruction of the environment, it can only be done if we unite together to develop coherent and effective remedies.” [At left are Guy Johnson and Colin Johnson.]

“Maya Angelou left a stamp on everything and everyone she touched,” he added. “It is only fitting that the U.S. Postal Service is bringing out a stamp in recognition of her life’s work. Her family is extremely grateful of the honor that is being bestowed upon her.”

Also attending the ceremony were Angelou’s grandson Colin Johnson; poet Sonia Sanchez (below right); author and journalist Sophia Nelson; Howard University English professor Eleanor Traylor; poet and civil rights activist Nikki Giovanni (below left); and Atlanta-based artist Ross Rossin, whose portrait of Angelou was used for the stamp. The back story on the portrait and the connection to Young and Winfrey can be found here. Melissa Harris-Perry served as master of ceremonies.

As an author, poet, actress, and champion of civil rights, Angelou (1928–2014) was one of the most dynamic voices in 20th-century American literature. The book, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” an autobiographical account of her childhood, gained wide acclaim for its vivid depiction of African-American life in the South.

The stamp showcases Rossin’s 2013 4 feet by 4 feet oil-on-canvas portrait of Angelou. The large hyper-realistic painting is part of the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery’s collection, where it will be on display through Nov. 1. The stamp features this quote from an interview Angelou conducted:  “A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.”

The stamp pane includes a short excerpt from Angelou’s book, “Letter to My Daughter.” It reads: “Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.” Art director Ethel Kessler of Bethesda, MD, designed the stamp.

Special dedication ceremonies for the Maya Angelou Forever stamp are also scheduled for [April 7] in Detroit, Los Angeles and Santa Ana, CA; Stamps, AR, April 8; Stockton, CA,  April 11.

Believe it or not, the USPS-supplied stills (photos) didn’t include Postmaster General Meg Brennan! A few more photos, courtesy VSC member Rollin Berger: I couldn’t see it in the unveiling photo I posted earlier, but there in the center of the group, green dress, is First Lady Michelle Obama. Thanks to Rollin for pointing her out.