Maya Angelou Becomes First Black Woman To Have Her Face On A US Quarter

Beloved American poet and civil rights activist Maya Angelou is now the face of a new quarter that the US Mint has released into circulation, becoming the first Black woman to appear on the coin.

Angelou is depicted on the tails side of the quarter with her arms raised, and the wings of the bird behind her almost give the illusion of her being in flight. The rays of the rising sun underline the inscription: “United States of America.” Meanwhile, the heads end of the coin portrays George Washington, in honor of his 200th birthday.

The writer, poet, social activist, performer, and teacher found international acclaim through her autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. She was the first African American woman to present a poem at an inauguration of a president when she read On the Pulse of Morning at President Bill Clinton’s swearing-in ceremony.

Angelou also received more than 30 honorary degrees, and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2010, the Literarian Award in 2013, and an honorary National Book Award.

The Maya Angelou coins are the first of a series of quarters that the US Mint is dedicating to history-making women. Others to be featured this year comprise Dr Sally Ride, the first female astronaut and a physicist; Wilma Mankiller, the first female principal chief of the Cherokee Nation; Nina Otero-Warren, the first female superintendent of Santa Fe public schools and a leader of the suffrage movement in New Mexico; and Anna May Wong, the first Chinese American Hollywood star.

The US Mint will commission five such annual quarter designs through 2025 as part of a new American Women Quarter Program, spotlighting extraordinary, ethnically- and racially-diverse women who have paved the way in “suffrage, civil rights, abolition, government, humanities, science, space, and the arts."

“Maya Angelou’s writing and activism inspired countless Americans and her legacy helped fuel greater fairness and understanding across our nation,” details Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, who helped sponsor the program. “She is exactly the type of leader I had in mind when Senator Fischer, Representative Lee and I wrote our bipartisan legislation to create a series of quarters honoring the contributions of American women."

“This coin will ensure generations of Americans learn about Maya Angelou’s books and poetry that spoke to the lived experience of Black women,” continues Senator Masto.

[via Essence and Paper Magazine, images via various sources]