Poet and activist Maya Angelou became the first black woman to appear in the US quarter in a new edition of the coin unveiled by the US Mint on Monday.
Angelo, author of “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” will also be the first figure to be celebrated through the American Women’s Quarter Program, which was signed into law in January 2021.
According to a press release from the agency, the US Mint has “began shipping the first coins”, with Angelo’s likeness on the US quarter, a 25-cent piece.
“It is my honor to present our nation’s first circulating coins dedicated to celebrating American women and their contributions to American history,” said Mint Deputy Director Ventrice Gibson.
“Each 2022 quarter is designed to reflect the breadth and depth of the achievements being celebrated in this historic coin event. Maya Angelou illustrated on the back of this first coin in the series, using words for inspiration and upliftment “
The program instructs the US Mint to issue quarters featuring five different female American Trailblazers each year between 2022 and 2025.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said she was “proud that these coins celebrate the contributions of some of America’s most remarkable women.”
“Every time we redesign our currency, we have a chance to say something about our country – what we value and how we have progressed as a society,” he said in a statement. “
Over the past 90 years, the quarter has depicted the first US president, George Washington, on one side and an eagle on the other.
In 1999, America introduced a series of quarters honoring the 50 states, with the design of the state depicted on the back of the coin. The program was expanded to include US territories and national parks.
The new quarters – which have been built in Philadelphia and Denver – show Washington on one side and Angelo on the other.
Other figures to appear on the coin in 2022 are: Sally Ride, the first American woman to go into space; Wilma Mankiller, the first female head of state of the Cherokee Nation; Nina Otero-Warren, a suffrage leader; and Anna May Wong, a Chinese-American film star.
honored with heritage
Born in Missouri in 1928, Angelou was an essayist and poet who worked with civil rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X.
Angelou, who penned the poem at Bill Clinton’s first presidential inauguration, died in 2014.
Yellen has also indicated support for recognizing former slave and abolitionist Harriet Tubman on the US currency.
Former President Barack Obama began an attempt to put Tubman’s face on the $20 bill, but it stalled under Donald Trump’s administration.
Yellen said in September that it would be an “honour” to put Tubman, a black woman who escaped slavery and became leader of the abolitionist movement pre-Civil War, on the bill, but designing banknotes takes time.
Several US lawmakers celebrated the release of Angelo Quarter, including Congressman Ayanna Pressley.
“Black women have historically done the most for our nation while receiving the least recognition,” tweeted the Massachusetts Democrat. “Glad to see one of my lions, Maya Angelou, that her legacy has been honored.”
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