The U.S. Mint has unveiled five women who will be appearing in the 2023 quarter as part of a four-year series celebrating the contribution of women to the United States. Next year’s Variety honorees include a former First Lady, pilot, Prima Ballerina, composer and journalist.
After that, women candidates were announced in the second phase Five women were unveiled To attend the Quarter this year as part of the American Women Quarter program. The first quarters published in circulation were the poet Maya Angelo earlier this year and then the first American female astronaut, Sally Ride.
Next year’s quarters include Bessie Coleman, Jovita Eder, Edith Kanakaole, Eleanor Roosevelt and Maria Talchief. To select the women who have been featured, the US Mint works with groups including the Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative, the National Museum of Women’s History, and the Congressional Bipartisan Women’s Caucus to integrate the recommendations. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen gave the final approval to the honorees.
“The range of achievements and experiences of these extraordinary women speaks volumes about the contribution that women have always made to the history of our country,” said Ventris Gibson, Mint’s deputy director of the latest Round of Honors. “I am proud that Mint continues to connect America through currency, honoring these pioneering women and their groundbreaking contributions to our society.”
Here are the women featuring next year:
Bessie Coleman
Born in 1892, Bessie Coleman was the first African American and the first Native American female pilot. When the flight school would not accept her because she was a woman and African American, she applied for a flight school in France. He became the first African American to receive an international pilot’s license from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale in June 1921. In 1922, he made his first public flight by an African American woman. He went on to perform strategies and give flight lessons in the United States and Europe. Coleman was also known as a lawyer who refused to speak out against discrimination against African Americans.
Jovita Idar
Jovita Eder, born in Texas in 1885, was a Mexican-American journalist, activist, teacher, and voter. Eder started working for his father’s newspaper, La Cronica, which advocated for Mexican-American rights. She was also known for supporting women’s suffrage and encouraging women to vote. Eder wrote for several other publications and was active in the Texas Democratic Party.
Edith Kanakaole
Edith Kanaka’ol, born in 1913, was an Indigenous Hawaiian composer, singer, dancer, teacher, and entertainer. She founded an internationally recognized dance troupe, Halau and Kekuhi, also known as Hula. His moʻolelo, or story, preserves Hawaiian history, customs, and traditions that were becoming extinct due to cultural orthodoxy.
Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt, born in 1884, was the longest-serving first lady in the United States, a writer, lawyer, and the first chair of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. During her tenure as first lady, Roosevelt traveled throughout the United States and reported to the president what she had seen. Early in her husband’s presidency, she became the first woman to hold her own press conference where she invited only female journalists. He also ran his own daily syndicate column. Roosevelt was known for speaking out on behalf of the poor and minorities. After her husband’s death, President Truman appointed Mrs. Roosevelt to the UN General Assembly.
Maria Talchief
Maria Talchev, born in 1925 in Oklahoma, was America’s first prima ballerina. In 1947 he made his debut in the United States major Russian ballet company Ballet Rousseau, he became the first American to dance in the Paris Opera Ballet and was the first star in the New York City Ballet where he played the lead role. In Firebird and Nutcracker. Talchief also broke through barriers as a Native American ballerina and was known for speaking out against injustice and discrimination.
Like this year’s quarters featuring women, next year’s quarters will feature women on the opposite “tail” side of the coin. The “heads” side of the coin will feature President George Washington.
The law, designed to commemorate the 19th Amendment to women’s suffrage, was introduced in 2019 by Barbara Lee, a California congresswoman, and passed in 2020. It was signed into law in January 2021
Activists Wilma Mankiller, voter Nina Otero-Warren and actress Anna May Wang will also launch quarters later this year.
