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The Sacagawea dollar coin, issued in 2000, was special with its golden olor depicting mother and child, but like the Susan B. Anthony dollar coin, their power as currency never gained traction. Quarters still have more efficacy in the US. Moving female depictions on currency from rarely used dollar coins to frequently used quarters is perhaps, on some level, a recognition of the power of women in mainstream society. The American Women Quarters series is now circulating into the hands of women and girls across the US, with the first coin artfully depicting Maya Angelou (April 4, 1928\u2013May 28, 2014). Later in 2022 we will see more quarters in the series depicting astronaut Sally Ride, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation Wilme Mankiller, Superintendent of Santa Fe public schools, Nina Otero-Warren, and the first Asian American leading actor Anna May Wong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In January 2021, Janet Yellen became the first female US Treasury Secretary. In this recent statement she said, \u00abEach time we redesign our currency, we have the chance to say something about our country \u2014 what we value, and how we\u2019ve progressed as a society. I\u2019m very proud that these coins celebrate the contributions of some of America\u2019s most remarkable women, including Maya Angelou.\u00bb<\/span>1<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n In 1999, I saw Maya Angelou speak at a local university. I recall standing in the back of the room where she spoke, crying while she invited each of us into a hopeful picture of equality and love, while detailing the searing discrimination she experienced throughout her life. The US and its culture of fame and popularity didn\u2019t seem to fit with the sensitivity of poetry, but the auditorium where she was speaking was completely full. Along with her volumes of poetry, Angelou wrote several autobiographical books detailing her struggle, including \u2039I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings\u203a, an account of her childhood battles with racism, sexism, and trauma while growing up in Stamps, Arkansas. Throughout the book, Angelou\u2019s belief in the power of literacy shines through, with poetry and prose bringing her back to her true self several times after traumatic events. For example, Angelou contends with complex guilt after her mother\u2019s boyfriend, brought to trial for raping her at age 8, is murdered. She loses her ability to speak, feeling that her words are what brought death upon him. Through poetry she finds her voice again. Angelou\u2019s courage is evident in all of her life decisions. When she gives birth to a son at the age of 16, she is determined to provide for them financially on her own and works in night clubs, as a cook, and as a sex-worker. She was also the first black female tramway conductor in San Francisco. Later she made a career as an actress, dancer, songwriter, producer, poet and civil rights activist. She was the first woman and first African-American to read her poetry at a presidential inauguration for President Bill Clinton in 1993.<\/p>\n\n\n\nA story of struggle, a song of strength<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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