Dr. Maya Angelou has made history, posthumously. She has become the first African American woman to be featured on the U.S. quarter.
We reported that Dr. Angelou would be honored by the U.S. mint along with 20 other trailblazing women on a series of quarters. It has been announced this past Monday that the quarters would begin to be shipped out as they were made in Philadelphia and Denver.
Ventris C. Gibson, the Deputy Director of the U.S. Mint said in a statement, “It is my honor to present our Nation’s first circulating coins dedicated to celebrating American women and their contributions to American history.”
He continued, “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.”
The back of the coin was designed by Emily Damstra and sculpted by Craig A. Campbell and displays Dr. Angelou’s arms raised with a symbol of a bird behind her which is meant to represent her work as a poet and “the way she lived.”
Dr. Maya Angelou passed away on May 28th, 2014 at age 86.
Excited to announce that today, Maya Angelou becomes the first Black woman to appear on a US quarter!
The phenomenal women who shaped American history have gone unrecognized for too long—especially women of color. Proud to have led this bill to honor their legacies. pic.twitter.com/TYZeEJ8LhX
— Rep. Barbara Lee (@RepBarbaraLee) January 10, 2022