
Spain’s postal service is feeling a backlash from its attempt to highlight racial inequality.
State-owned Correos España this week issued a set of four stamps in different skin-colored tones. The darker the stamp, the lower the price. The lightest color costs 1.60 euros ($1.95). The darkest one costs 0.70 euros ($0.85).
The postal service calls them “Equality Stamps” and introduced them on the anniversary of George Floyd being killed by a police officer in Minneapolis. It said the stamps “reflect an unfair and painful reality that shouldn’t be allowed” and that every letter or parcel sent with them would “send a message against racial inequality.”
The campaign was launched during European Diversity Month in collaboration with Spain’s national SOS Racism Federation, a nonprofit group, and featured a 60-second video with Spanish hip-hop star and activist El Chojín.
But while the goal of Correos España was to “shine a light on racial inequality and promote diversity, inclusion and equal rights,” critics are accusing the company of having a tin ear for racial issues and misreading the sentiment of Black people in Spain.