Maya Angelou is the first black woman to be honored by being depicted on a United States coin. In January of 2022, the U.S. mint released quarters with Angelou’s figure on it into circulation. But more importantly, she is celebrated because of her incredible poetry and groundbreaking achievements.

Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Annie Johnson on April 4, 1928 in St. Louis Missouri. In childhood, Angelou was sexually abused by her mother’s boyfriend. A series of related events led her to become mute for almost five years. Throughout this time of silence, Maya Angelou discovered her love of literature which would lead her career in the future. One telling achievement of hers occurred when she was sixteen years old and became San Francisco’s first black and female streetcar conductor.

Angelou started her career as a performer and was cast in various shows such as the opera Porgy and Bess. In the 1960’s as her career took off, she got more involved in the civil rights movement, and interacted with MLK Jr and Malcolm X. In 1969, Angelou published her first autobiography I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, which discusses her early life and struggles. This book was the first of 7 autobiographies that she would write. Continuing to make breakthroughs, Maya Angelou’s film Georgia Georgia was the first screenplay produced by a black woman.

In 1993, she recited her poem “On the Pulse of Morning” at Bill Clinton’s inauguration, and she received a grammy for the recording of this poem. She has been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for her poetry book Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water ‘fore I Diiie; she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011, and became the first black woman depicted on a quarter in 2022. Her autobiographies and poetry discuss racism and family/identity issues and continue to challenge readers to better themselves and their communities.