When the U.S. Mint began shipping U.S. quarters, Maya Angelou was recognized as being the first African American woman to be featured on one. The women who are featured are determined by their well- known accomplishments and contributions they made to our country.

Angelou died in 2014 at the age of 86, but a few years prior, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama. Receiving this type of recognition was the nation’s highest honor and Angelou became a successful writer, poet, and activist. 

This quarter is only the start of a series of five new coins. The American Women Quarters Program is in charge of designing the “tails” side of the coins as it features American women who greatly contributed and overcame numerous accomplishments. 

According to BBC News, there are four other women who are a part of the American Woman Quarters Program and will be featured in the next upcoming quarters. For instance, Dr. Sally Ride was the first female U.S astronaut; Wilma Mankiller, the first female chief of the Cherokee nation; Nina Otero-Warren, a leader in New Mexico’s women’s suffrage movement; and Anna May Wong, who is to be the first American-Chinese star in Hollywood. 

The United States Mint has shipped Maya Angelou’s quarter in the states of Philadelphia and Colorado. Similar coins will start to be shipped from the year 2022 to 2025. 

According to The Washington Post, the quarter features Angelou from the hips up, with her arms lifted, and there is a sun and bird behind her. The likeliness of Angelou raising her arms must be her celebrating the type of life she had and how she wants it to be symbolized by her outstanding accomplishments in writing and poetry. 

Junior Maria Galstyan is eager for the series of women appearing in the U.S quarters. She read about an article which featured the U.S Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen saying, “each time we redesign our currency, we have the chance to say something about our country.” When Galstyan read the article about women appearing in the U.S. quarter, she felt rather inspired and how there was immense progress in our society. 

Before, women were assigned to take care of the children, do household chores, and were not allowed to attend school. But now, as society progresses, women are able to vote, run for office, attend their education, and even appear in U.S quarters. The recognition of women has changed over the years and it has peaked when many successful women have accomplished so much.