Late American author Maya Angelou has become the first Black woman to feature on a US coin. A new version of the American quarter, a 25 cent piece, featuring her image went into circulation on January 10, 2022.
The US quarter features an image of Maya Angelou with her hands uplifted against a background of a bird in flight with the sun rising behind her. The head's side of the quarter has a portrait of George Washington. The US Mint said that the image of Angelou was “inspired by her poetry and symbolic of the way she lived”. The US Mint also said that it has begun shipping of the first coins.
The US coin is a part of the American Women Quarters programme. Maya Angelou has become the first figure commemorated through the American Women Quarters Program. Besides Maya Angelou, the American Women Quarters programme also features Wilma Mankiller, first female principal chief of the Cherokee Nation and Sally Ride, the first American woman in space. The programme was signed into law in January 2021.
Who is Maya Angelou?
• Maya Angelou is the author of the autobiography "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", a 1969 autobiography describing her early years as an American writer and poet.
• Angelou gained international acclaim after the publication of the autobiography. It illustrates how the strength of a character and a love of literature can help one overcome racism and trauma.
• The book illustrates an unflinching account of rape and racism, as at the age of 7, Angelou was raped by her mother’s boyfriend, who was later beaten to death.
• The combined trauma of rape and death of the assaulter left Angelou unable to speak for almost 6 years. It was during that period that she began writing.
• Overall, Angelou has published seven autobiographies, three essay books and several poetry books. She has received dozens of awards and over 50 honorary degrees.
• She has also worked as an actress, director, writer and producer of plays, movies, and several public television programs.
• She has also been an active civil rights activist and she had worked with Martin Luther King Jr, leader of the American civil rights movement, who was assassinated in 1968.
• Angelou was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Barack Obama in 2010.
• She was awarded the Literarian Award, an honorary National Book Award for contributions to the literary community in 2013.
• She had recited her poem "On the Pulse of Morning" at the first inauguration of Bill Clinton as President of United States in 1993. She had become the first poet to make an inaugural recitation since Robert Frost at the inauguration of John F. Kennedy in 1961. It was also the first time an African-American woman wrote and presented a poem at a presidential inauguration.
Significance
The US quarter has for the last 90 years showing the nation’s first president, George Washington on the head's side and an eagle on the tail's side. The new quarter now shows George Washington on one side and Maya Angelou on the other.
The US treasury secretary Janet Yellen said, “Each time we redesign our currency, we have the chance to say something about our country — what we value, and how we’ve progressed as a society." She further added saying that she is proud that these coins celebrate the contributions of some of America’s most remarkable women, including Maya Angelou.
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