“Behind her are a bird in flight and a rising sun”
The Maya Angelou Quarter is not only the first coin in the American Women Quarters Program but also the first time a black woman appears on a U.S. coin.
Maya Angelou was a celebrated writer, performer, and social activist. She rose to international prominence as an author after the publication of her groundbreaking autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Angelou’s published works of verse, non-fiction, and fiction include more than 30 bestselling titles.
Angelou’s remarkable career encompasses dance, theater, journalism, and social activism. She appeared in Broadway and off-Broadway plays, including “Cabaret for Freedom”, which she wrote with Godfrey Cambridge. At the request of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., she served as northern coordinator of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. In 1978, she was a National Book Award judge for biography and autobiography.
Angelou read “On the Pulse of Morning” at the 1992 inauguration of President Clinton. Angelou’s reading marked the first time an African American woman wrote and presented a poem at a presidential inauguration. She was also only the second poet in history to do so, following Robert Frost, who recited a poem at President Kennedy’s inauguration in 1961.
Angelou received more than 30 honorary degrees and was inducted into the Wake Forest University Hall of Fame for Writers. In 2010, President Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom. She was also the 2013 recipient of the Literarian Award, an honorary National Book Award for contributions to the literary community.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, the nation’s first female Treasury secretary, said, “Each time we redesign our currency, we have the chance to say something about our country. I’m very proud that these coins celebrate the contributions of some of America’s most remarkable women, including Maya Angelou.”
The head of the quarter coin depicts a portrait of George Washington which was originally composed and sculpted by Laura Gardin Fraser to mark George Washington’s 200th birthday. A recommended design for the 1932 quarter, the then US Treasury Secretary Mellon ultimately selected the familiar John Flannigan design. The reverse of the coin depicts Maya Angelou with her arms uplifted. Behind her are a bird in flight and a rising sun, images inspired by her poetry and symbolic of the way she lived.
“This coin will ensure generations of Americans learn about Maya Angelou’s books and poetry that spoke to the lived experience of Black women,” said Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV).
Soon after taking office in 2021, The Biden administration announced that it planned to replace Andrew Jackson’s portrait on the $20 bill with American abolitionist and political activist Harriet Tubman, a leader in the Underground Railroad. The administration has provided no further information since the announcement.
