From Maya Angelou to Anna May Wong, these pioneering women will appear on US quarters next year [View all]
They were suffragettes, leaders, artists and astronauts who transformed the US -- even if you don't know them by name.
Now, they'll be immortalized on American currency.
The US Mint has announced the full list of five pioneering American women who will appear on the first run of the "American Women Quarters Program." Images of the women, who represent a wide array of professions from which women were previously shut out, will appear on the backs of select quarters beginning in 2022. (George Washington's facade will remain on the "heads" side
Two of the women, Sally Ride, an astronaut who was the first American woman in space, and the celebrated poet and civil rights activist Maya Angelou, were selected earlier this year. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen chose the rest of the honorees with input from the public, according to the US Mint.
Asian American actress Anna May Wong, Cherokee Nation leader Wilma Mankiller and suffragette and politician Nina Otero-Warren will join Ride and Angelou in being featured on the coins.';
"These inspiring coin designs tell the stories of five extraordinary women whose contributions are indelibly etched in American culture," US Mint Acting Director Alison Doone said in a statement.
The US Mint invited the public to submit names of women they view as American icons. The bureau welcomed entries of women known for their work in civil rights, science and the arts, among other areas, with an emphasis on women from "ethnically, racially and geographically diverse backgrounds." The only requirement was that the women who appear on the coins must be deceased.
https://www.cnn.com/style/article/us-mint-american-women-quarters-selected-cec/index.html