The US Mint has announced its 2025 American Women Quarters Program honorees. Two of which are iconic Black women, Ida B. Wells and Althea Gibson.
Ida B. Wells was an investigative journalist, suffragist, and civil rights activist, who co-founded the NAACP. She was also an active participant in the women’s club and suffrage movements and later engaged in social work in the growing city of Chicago.
Althea Gibson was a multi-sport athlete who set many firsts throughout her athletic career. She was the first black athlete to break the color barrier at the highest level in tennis. She was voted the 1958 Female Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press and was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame and the International Women’s Sports Hall of Fame. Additionally, she became the first Black player to compete in the Women’s Professional Golf Tour.
“It’s a privilege for the Mint to connect America through coins, and to tell our nation’s story through honoring the women in this amazing program,” Mint Director Ventris C. Gibson said in a statement. “The pioneering women we have recognized are among the many in our nation’s history who have made significant contributions and championed change in their own unique way.”
The other three honorees selected this year were Girl Scouts founder Juliette Gordon Low, pioneering astronomer Dr. Vera Rubin, and disability activist Stacey Park Milbern. The designs for the quarters featuring the 2025 honorees will be unveiled in 2024.