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On Monday, the US Mint announced that a new quarter featuring the iconic poet, memoirist and civil rights activist Maya Angelou has begun shipping as part of the American Women Quarters Program. This groundbreaking event makes her the first Black woman to appear on the coin.
Angelou’s quarter is one of four coins featuring American women of historical significance slated for shipping through 2025. Additional honorees include Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, Anna May Wong, the pioneering Asian film star, Wilma Mankiller, activist, the first female principal chief of the Cherokee Nation and Nina Otero-Warren, author, educator, and advocate of the Women’s Suffrage movement in the United States.
“It is my honor to present our Nation’s first circulating coins dedicated to celebrating American women and their contributions to American history,” Mint Deputy Director Ventris C. Gibson said in the press release. “Each 2022 quarter is designed to reflect the breadth and depth of accomplishments being celebrated throughout this historic coin program. Maya Angelou, featured on the reverse of this first coin in the series, used words to inspire and uplift.”
