You may remember that a few years ago - around 2016 - it was announced that Harriet Tubman would replace Andrew Jackson (who definitely committed genocide against Native Americans, by the way) on the twenty dollar bill. Predictably, when Trump was elected later that year, he halted that effort - though Joe Biden did announce this summer that he plans to begin moving forward with it again.

For now, though, people can still know that the government is making good on the promise to make our money less white, because they just announced that the U.S. Mint has begun shipping quarters printed with the image of author and activist Maya Angelou, known best for her poetry and novels like Beloved and I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings.

 

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen said this about the new coin in an official statement:

"Each time we redesign our currency, we have the chance to say something about our country - what we value, and how we've progressed as a society. I'm very proud that these coins celebrate the contributions of some of America's most remarkable women, including Maya Angelou."

The minting of these new coins is part of a larger initiative to put women on American coins - other women featured will include Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, and Anna May Wong, who is widely considered to be the first Chinese-American movie star. The coins should begin appearing in your hand within the year, so keep an eye out for them!

Tags: maya Angelou