By EBONEE PEREZ
Staff Writer
Women are finally being honored on U.S. currency. In 2022, a very diverse group of women will be put on the back of the quarter to celebrate their contributions to American history. These women don’t only come from diverse fields of work but also diverse racial, ethnic, and geophysical backgrounds. The five women being honored on the quarter this year will be Maya Angelou, Wilma Mankiller, Nina Otero-Warren, Anna May Wong, and Sally Ride. Maya Angelou was a writer, poet, performer, and activist. Angelou wrote more than two dozen best-selling works, was the first African American to recite poetry at a presidential inauguration, and served as a coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference at the request of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Wilma Mankiller was the first female principal chief of the Cherokee Nation and a women’s rights activist. Mankiller was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Nina Otero-Warren was a leader in New Mexico’s suffrage movement and was the first woman to serve as superintendent of the Santa Fe public schools. Otero-Warren pushed for literature to be published in English and Spanish and pushed for better conditions for the government’s Indian school system. Anna May Wong was considered the first Chinese American film star in Hollywood and the first Asian American to lead a U.S. television show. Wong appeared in Technicolor, one of the first films made. Sally Rider was the first woman and youngest woman in space, and will also be the first LGBTQ+ member on U.S. currency. Ride was aboard the Challenger, co-authored six science books, and launched an organization that inspired young people in STEM. These five quarters will continue to feature President George Washington and will be released periodically throughout the year. The American Women Quarters Program will continue to release up to five quarters each year up until 2025.
