Born in 1928, Marguerite Annie Johnson grew to be one of the most important American literary figures of the 19th and 20th centuries. You may better recognize her as Maya Angelou, author of “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”.
She was also known for her work as a civil rights activist, a Calypso singer, a dancer, a poet and more. Over the course of her life, she was awarded more than 50 honorary degrees as well as the Presidential Medal of Freedom which was presented to her by President Barack Obama in 2010.
In a collection of her published essays entitled “Letter to My Daughter” she wrote, “The birth of my son caused me to develop enough courage to invent my life.” She went on to also say, “I gave birth to one child, a son, but I have thousands of daughters." In this collection, she serves up lots of advice to women that stems from her own lived experience. It’s beautiful, wonderful, intelligent, wise and more.
In early 2022, the United States Mint honored Dr. Angelou by featuring her as part of the American Women Quarters Program. Her coin if the first one launched in the series and is also the first U.S. coin to depict a Black woman.