2022 American Women's Quarter Program Honeree's
MAYA ANGELOU
Maya Angelou was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on April 4th, 1928, to Vivian Baxter Johnson and Bailey Johnson. Angelou found her voice through her childhood experiences- trauma, sexual assault, resilience, and racism-that she discussed in her first and most critically acclaimed autobiography, “I Know Why The Caged Birds Sing”. Ms. Angelou was a beloved poet, essayist, memoirist, and civil rights activist during her era. This famed poet had many other talents, from seven autobiographies to working as a professor, to performing on Broadway, to writing three sets of essays. With all her accomplishments in her career, Maya Angelou would be the first black woman featured on American currency. In 2022, Angelou was the first woman to be featured in the four-year American women's quarter program. This quarter was designed by Emily Damstra, with the image depicting Angelou's arms stretched alongside a bird and a rising sun, inspired by her first autobiography. This coin was put into circulation on January 3rd, 2022, and it celebrates her accomplishments as a poet, performer, and activist.
DR. SALLY RIDE
​Sally Kristen Ride was born in Encino, Los Angeles, California, on May 26th, 1951, to Carol Joyce Anderson and Dale Burdell Ride. Ride completed her Phd in physics from Stanford University in 1977, which led her to become one of six women chosen to join the NASA astronaut Corps in 1978. In 1983, Dr. Sally Ride got the honor to be on the Seventh space shuttle mission, where she operated the shuttle's robotics arm, which then made her the first American woman to visit Space and the youngest at 32. She went back to space again in 1984, where her previous steps to becoming the first woman in space allowed Dr. Kathryn D Sullivan to be the first woman to walk in space. Dr. Ride was an instrumental leader in NASA, where she was the only female and the only individual to be designated to the shuttle challenge disaster and Columbia disaster committee. Another one of Ride's accomplishments would be identified as the “Ride Report,” which was the production of NASA's first Strategic planning report. Dr. Ride’s accomplishments range very far from just NASA, from writing six books about science for young children to founding a program called “Sally Ride Science,” which helped shrink the gender gap in the fields of science and engineering. Sally Ride ended her astonishing career as a physics professor, where she taught for 25 years at the University of California, San Diego. With Ride inspiring young women, this led to her being the second woman featured in the four-year American women's quarter program. She will also be the first LGBTQ+ person featured on a quarter, which represents her being the first woman in space. This quarter depicts Dr. Sally Ride looking from a space shuttle window, which is influenced by her observance of Earth, designed by Elana Hagler. The Dr. Sally Ride quarter was put into circulation on March 22, 2022.
WILMA MANKILLER
Wilma Pearl Mankiller was born in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, on November 18th, 1945, to Charley Mankiller and Clara Irene Sitton. Mankiller made history as the first woman Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. She made significant contributions, such as restructuring the healthcare system within the Cherokee Nation and creating long-running community-aligned policies. Before she became the chief, she faced many trials and tribulations, from relocation to protests. The “termination bills” spanned from 1946 to the 1960s, where they ended federal support for native tribes, which disbanded tribes and sold reservation lands, which ultimately affected Mankiller's family as well. The Indian Relocation Act of 1956 relocated Mankiller and her family to a housing unit in San Francisco. Due to this relocation, this allowed her to face adversity head-on and become a social activist for native american rights and justice. She protested at Alcatraz Island, pleading to reverse the termination bills and provide cultural access and school on the island for natives. This protest brought many native activists and lasted for 19 months. Before moving back to Oklahoma in 1975, she volunteered in the native community in California. During her time in Oklahoma, she improved Cherokee community services such as housing, education, and healthcare. Another significant contribution mankiller did was creating a volunteer project to create a waterline in the Bell community in the Cherokee nation known as the Bell Project. With all these contributions and activism, Wilma Mankiller was the first woman Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation in 1985. She remained in this position for 10 years, and during her time, she opened three rural healthcare centers, expanded the Head Start program, and started a center for the prevention of drug abuse. Due to her revitalization and significant impact within the Cherokee Nation, the Office of tribal justice in the U.S. Department of Justice was established. Wilma Mankiller was the third woman featured on the American quarter. The quarter honors her activism for native americans and her being the first female chief, which was released June 7, 2022. The design features Mankiller with a strong gaze, wearing a shawl, and with the seven-pointed star of the Cherokee Nation designed by Benjamin Sowards.
NINA OTERO-WARREN
​Nina Otero-Warren was born on October 23, 1881, in Los Lunas, New Mexico, to Eloisa Luna and Manuel B. Otero. Warren was very active in New Mexico politics and women's suffrage during her time. In 1917, Warren headed the New Mexico chapter of the congressional union for women's suffrage. The women's suffrage movement was a historical period in history as many women fought for equal rights and voting rights. With Otero-Warren's creative thinking, she built support for women's suffrage from New Mexico citizens and published suffrage information in both English and Spanish to reach a vast audience. With all her work and contributions to the congressional union and the national women's party, this sparked the New Mexico suffrage movement and gained immense support. With all her advocacy, New Mexico became the 32 states to ratify the 19th Amendment. In 1918, she became the first New Mexico government official and worked as a superintendent. Due to her advocacy of bilingual education and culture, in 1965, New Mexico became the first of many states to have bilingual multicultural education law in schools. Warren continues to raise the standard by running for Congress under the republican party, becoming an inspector of indian schools, being a chairman of the New Mexico board of health, etc. Warren was a pioneer, leader, and trailblazer, which led her to be featured on an American quarter. On August 15th, 2022, her quarter was put into circulation with a design featuring her portrait with an inscription “VOTO PARA LA MUJER" (Votes for Women). As well as including the New Mexico state flower and art decorations to reflect the time period, designed by Chris Costello.
ANNA MAY WONG
​Anna May Wong was born January 3rd, 1905, in Los Angeles, California, to Wong Sam Sing and Lee Gon Toy. As a child, Wong was intrigued by film, production, and the career of acting when she would visit Hollywood sets. With her mind set on pursuing a career in film, she dropped out of high school to pursue a full-time acting career. During this time, discrimination was still very prevalent, which limited Wong's ability to act in films and only allowed her to be stereotyped in the industry or limited to background characters. Even so, Wong earned herself a starring role in “Lotus Flower in The Toll Of The Sea,” the first Technicolor film. Early in her career, she was cast in big-time films, but as side characters or stereotypical ones, which led her to England to pursue a better career. In 1928, she earned her first big-time role in a silent film, which then led her to learning different languages to gain more roles. When returning to the U.S., she starred in another big-time film, “Shanghai Express”. The next film she sought out was “The Good Earth,” which she did not get due to discrimination because of her ethnic origin. After a brief break from acting because of World War II, she became the first Asian American to star in a TV series, “The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong”. With all the dedication, perseverance, and strength, this led Anna May Wong to become the first Chinese American film star in Hollywood, with acting in over 60 movies. Wong would be the last woman quarter circulated for the 2022 season, being released on October 24, 2022. The design features Anna May Wong resting her head on her hand, representing her pioneering career, designed by Emily Damastra.