Karen Douglas, a 45-year USPS employee, was interviewed recently for a local TV news series in Charlotte, NC, highlighting people of color who serve their communities.
Douglas, a customer services supervisor who was born and raised in Charlotte, began her career as a letter sorting machine operator.
“We can process mail and packages so much faster with our automated equipment,” she told WBTV reporter Shavaun Bryant.
Douglas also served in the U.S. Navy Reserve while working for USPS.
“Every day is a new day, a different day,” she told Bryant. “I always say, ‘It’s going to be a great postal day!’”
Special appearance
USPS helped the Chicago Chinatown Chamber of Commerce ring in the Lunar New Year at its recent annual celebration.
About 300 people attended the event, including two USPS employees: Richard Clark, who at the time was the Chicago Post Office’s officer in charge, and Marcus Wadley, a customer services supervisor.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson was also there.
“It is our wish that the Year of the Snake brings each of you good health, great joy and much prosperity,” Clark told the attendees before unveiling a replica of the latest Lunar New Year stamp.
Telling untold stories
USPS honored author Toni Morrison — a Nobel laureate acclaimed for such novels as “The Bluest Eye,” “Song of Solomon” and “Beloved — with a stamp in 2023.
A post on the Stamps Forever website recently spotlighted the stamp and highlighted a lesser-known aspect of her work.
Years before she was a published author, Morrison was an editor, becoming the first African American senior editor at Random House in 1968. She used her tenure to prioritize the publication of books by African American authors.
“If there’s a book you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it,” she once famously said. She followed her own advice, writing books on the experiences of African American women — voices that were rarely heard in literature until she blazed the path.
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