Despite the United States Postal Service's recent history of featuring diverse figures on postage stamps, there has never been an openly gay leader for LGBT equality honored on a stamp. 

Next week, however, that will change. The Harvey Milk stamp will make history as the first stamp to feature an openly gay leader. 

For six years, California has recognized the assassinated politician and LGBT civil rights leader on May 22. This year, the U.S. Postal Service plans to recognize Harvey Milk Day by printing 30 million stamps with Milk's smiling face and rainbow bars in the top left corner to represent the LGBT rights movement. 

In 1977, Milk became one of the first openly gay men to be elected into office after years of campaigning and losing. He served for barely a year in the San Francisco government, successfully passing a bill to ban LGBT discrimination, before he was shot along with the mayor by another city supervisor.

Stamp diversity

Since the U.S. Postal Service began to issue books of stamps 150 years ago, those featured on them haven't always reflected the true diversity of U.S. leaders, scientists, athletes, activists and musicians. The first stamp to feature a Black leader, Booker T. Washington, wasn't released until 1940. Many stamps featuring prominent women, Black and Latino figures did not come until decades later in the mid-90s and even after the turn of the century.

As digital forms of communication have skyrocketed in use over the past two decades, the volume of mail has dropped. Last year, the U.S. Postal Service mailed 50 billion fewer letters, advertising materials and packages than it did 10 years ago. Although stamp sails have similarly waned, the U.S. Postal Service still sells around 20 billion stamps.

If nothing else, the significance of the Harvey Milk stamp has sparked some interest among those leaving stamps behind in favor of faster, cheaper communication.

@MikeLoBurgio / Harvey Milk fought in the trenches to see that there were equal rights for every American. He is an American hero.

— LessThanPerfect (@gf_layne) May 13, 2014

OMG A Harvey Milk stamp. YESSSS. http://t.co/u7ejjuNsGq

— Kate Hinds (@katehinds) May 13, 2014