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The United States Mint has started\u00a0distributing quarters featuring the image of\u00a0Maya Angelou, making the poet and activist the first Black woman to appear on US currency.
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The quarter features an image of Angelou with her arms uplifted, a bird in flight, and a rising sun behind her, with a portrait of George Washington on the \u201cheads\u201d side. The US Mint said the image of Angelou was \u201cinspired by her poetry and symbolic of the way she lived\u201d.
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The poet and writer, who\u00a0died in 2014, was the author of\u00a0I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, in which she wrote about the racial discrimination she experienced growing up.
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Maya Angelou, the author of 36 books\u00a0and the recipient of more than 20 honorary degrees, read her poem On the Pulse of the Morning at Bill Clinton\u2019s 1992 inauguration, and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Barack Obama in 2010.<\/p>\n
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\u201cEach time we redesign our currency, we have the chance to say something about our country \u2013 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,\u201d said Janet Yellen, US treasury secretary.
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The coins depicting Angelou were part of the American Women Quarters Program, celebrating prominent women in US history. The bill was\u00a0put forward by Democrat congresswoman Barbara Lee.
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\u201cI will forever cherish the private moments I had the privilege to share with Maya, from talking in her living room as sisters to her invaluable counsel throughout the challenges I faced as a Black woman in elected office,\u201d said Lee.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI am proud to have led this effort to honour these phenomenal women, who more often than not are overlooked in our country\u2019s telling of history. If you find yourself holding a Maya Angelou quarter, may you be reminded of her words, \u2018be certain that you do not die without having done something wonderful for humanity.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
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