Local post office removes gay pride stamp exhibit

July 12, 10:15 AMMilwaukee LGBT Community ExaminerCylest Andaloro-Brooks

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Maggi Cage (photo courtesy of
MKE LGBT Community Center website)

Recently, Maggi Cage (Executive Director of the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center) was asked to create a gay pride display for the lobby of Milwaukee's downtown post office to recognize President Obama's declaration that June be gay pride month.  She had been approached with this idea by mail-carrier (and chairman of the post's diversity team) Dale J. Schuster.  By the afternoon of June 1st, just hours after the finished display was placed on display, it was gone.

A spokesperson for the US Postal Service, Marge Oehlke, admits to removing the display.  "It did not fit our qualifications" she told the Journal Sentinel.  She went on to say that the proper chain of command had not been followed, despite approval from the post office's diversity manager.

According to Oehlke, there are specific rules regulating the displays.  She said they must be "revenue-related"-- they must deal specifically with stamp sales, collecting, or packaging.  The AIDS stamp, which was included in the display, is no longer for sale and therefore doesn't count.

In light of the controversy, Schuster sent an email to Cage announcing his resignation as chairman of the post's diversity team.  In the email, he says, "In light of the controversy over the pride month display being taken down, I had no other recourse than to resign. I believe it is important that everybody is treated with dignity and respect, and that nobody should feel excluded."