Poet and author Maya Angelou, America’s first woman in space and a revered Cherokee Nation leader are among female trailblazers whose likenesses will appear on the U.S. quarter.
The new four-year American Women Quarters Program celebrates women’s accomplishments and contributions to the United States’ development and history, according to the U.S. Mint.
Under the program, the mint will issue up to five new designs each year from 2022 to 2025. Honorees will be from a variety of fields and from ethnically, racially and geographically diverse backgrounds, the mint says.
Those chosen for the first year are:
— Angelou, celebrated poet and memoirist
— Wilma Mankiller, the Cherokee Nation’s first female principal chief
— Adelina Otero-Warren, a leader in New Mexico’s suffrage movement
— Sally Ride, the first U.S. woman in space
— Anna May Wong, the first Chinese American Hollywood film star
Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. and Mankiller’s husband, Charlie Soap, expressed gratitude for Mankiller’s inclusion in the program, saying her influence and leadership made her a fitting choice.
