JUDY WOODRUFF: Some people leave a mark long
after they're gone. Gwen Ifill is one of them.
And, as of today, her smile can stick to any
message you write.
I was grateful to be there this morning when
my friend, the "NewsHour"s former co-anchor,
was honored with a special postage stamp.
The moment was celebrated at her spiritual
home.
It was an event that drew stamp collectors...
JANE MAYS, Stamp Collector: I belong to a
stamp club that collects Afro-American stamps.
Because of the honor that she's receiving
today, I wanted to come.
JUDY WOODRUFF: ... and Gwen Ifill fans from
far and wide.
ELIZABETH CRONEN, Former Producer, "Washington
Week": A stamp is something you put on your
note to send to your friend. People all over
this country are going to be doing that.
And they're going to know why I chose the
Gwen stamp, because she was thoughtful, she
was kind, and she was dedicated to the American
public.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
JUDY WOODRUFF: The U.S. Postal Service officially
unveiled the Gwen Ifill Black Heritage Forever
stamp at a dedication ceremony at the Metropolitan
AME Church in Washington, D.C.
Gwen's brother, Bert, accepted the honor on
behalf of the Ifill family, and recited a
poem he wrote.
BERT IFILL, Brother of Gwen Ifill: It is titled
"Gwen Forever."
Gwen's smile, her confident smile, compassionate,
consoling, cognizant, beams out at us. Posterity
has given its stamp of approval. When we have
something to say that's too difficult or complicated
to express in a text or over the phone, she
will be with us.
Our memories, now direct and sharp, will fade
over time, just as our lives will, but Gwen's
image -- image, legacy, spirit, will endure.
WOMAN: Forever.
(APPLAUSE)
JUDY WOODRUFF: Gwen's stamp puts her in the
pantheon of other black trailblazers honored
with a stamp, including Rosa Parks, Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr., Ida B. Wells, and Jackie
Robinson.
Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder was
a good friend.
ERIC HOLDER, Former U.S. Attorney General:
Today, more than ever, and in this city, at
this time and on this day, the need for her
is painfully acute.
This is a time for journalists to be brave,
demanding, unyielding, persistent, and committed
to sharing truth with the nation.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Gwen's career in journalism
began in newspapers, The Baltimore Sun, The
Washington Post, and The New York Times
She moved to television in 1994 with a stint
at NBC News.
GWEN IFILL, Former "PBS NewsHour" Co-Anchor:
They have to find a way to work with this
president for the next two years.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Then it was on to PBS in 1999
moderating "Washington Week In Review," becoming
one of the first black women to host a national
political program.
JIM LEHRER, Former "PBS NewsHour" Anchor:
And to our new senior correspondent, Gwen
Ifill.
Welcome, Gwen.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Here at the "NewsHour," for
17 years, her work took her around the country.
GWEN IFILL: This weekend, the political yin
and yang of a crowded field all descended
on Iowa at once.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Reporting on politics, sitting
down with singing legends.
GWEN IFILL: How do you handle the weight of
the diva-ness of it all? You have a lot of
flair.
ARETHA FRANKLIN, Musician: I love to sing.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Moderating vice presidential
debates.
GWEN IFILL: I want to talk to you about AIDS,
and not about AIDS in China or Africa, but
®MD-BO¯AIDS right here in this country.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And interviewing heads of state.
BARACK OBAMA, Former President of the United
States: The notion that somehow America is
in decline is just not borne out by the facts.
GWEN IFILL: But it resonates. It resonates
among a lot of aggrieved people who are voting
in big numbers for Donald Trump.
JUDY WOODRUFF: In 2016, at the age of 61,
Gwen died of cancer, leaving her colleagues
and fans devastated.
As she rose higher in her career, Gwen mentored
many aspiring young journalists, especially
women of color.
Her pastor, the Reverend William H. Lamar
IV, said Gwen believed her connections to
African-American communities was essential.
REV. WILLIAM H. LAMAR IV, Metropolitan African
Methodist Episcopal Church: Gwen didn't seek,
nor did she accept the tantalizing offer to
graduate from her blackness. Gwen found gifted
black women and opened doors for them that
she had to kick down.
JUDY WOODRUFF: During today's ceremony, Gwen's
work and values also were recognized by two
former presidents, Obama and Clinton.
Longtime journalist Michele Norris was one
of her closest friends.
MICHELE NORRIS, Contributor, The Washington
Post: It is fitting that Gwen's image is on
a stamp, and that stamps are the way that
we communicate and remain connected with each
other, because Gwen was one of those people
Malcolm Gladwell might call a connector. She
loved bringing people together.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Her cousin, Sherrilyn Ifill,
president of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education
Fund, and many others treated the day as a
celebration.
SHERRILYN IFILL, President, NAACP Legal Defense
and Educational Fund: Nothing has done more
to heal the pain of losing her than those
three simple words: Gwen Ifill forever.
And at this moment in our country, those words
mean so much. For our family, Gwen Ifill forever
means that our parents and our grandparents'
struggles were not in vain. They live on in
each of us forever.
JUDY WOODRUFF: The Gwen Ifill Black Heritage
stamp went on sale at U.S. post offices nationwide
today.
It was a beautiful ceremony today. I was so
honored to be there.
Gwen lives on inside each one of us at the
"NewsHour" every day.
And, online, you can find a link to watch
the whole ceremony for Gwen. That's on our
Web site, PBS.org/NewsHour.
