Representation Matters
President Abraham Lincoln replaced the image of Liberty on the penny in 1909 as a result of a shift in public perception about depicting real people on coins at the turn of the 20th century. The images of the presidents on the other official currency changed throughout the beginning half of the 20th century. The presidents were substituted for the legendary figure that was required by law to represent liberty on the obverse of coins. Susan B. Anthony initially appeared on the dollar nearly 200 years after the Mint created its first circulation currency. The first coin in circulation to feature a non-mythical woman was the Susan B. Anthony Dollar. President Dwight D. was replaced by her image.
The American Women Quarters Program is the first circulating currency initiative with a reverse topic that only celebrates women and their achievements to this nation. The Mint will release five designs every year, each honoring a different American woman, from 2022 through 2025. The women will come from a variety of fields and backgrounds that are ethnically, racially, and geographically diverse.
Popular figures like novelist Maya Angelou and Dr. Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, will be honored at the program. Additionally, it will familiarize Americans with under-appreciated females like Hollywood's first Chinese American movie actress, Anna May Wong. George Washington will still be shown on the obverse of the quarters, but in a new sculpture created by renowned 20th-century artist Laura Gardin Fraser.
As part of a U.S. Mint project, Celia Cruz, a Cuban-American singer considered to be the Queen of Salsa, will be the first Afro-Latina woman to appear on American quarters. The American Women Quarters Program, which honors notable women throughout history on the quarter, announced in a news release on February 1 that Ms. Cruz would be one of its 2024 honorees.
On our paper money, only white men can be found, and mostly men can be found on our coins. Our perceptions of men and women as well as ourselves are significantly influenced by the images of people on our money. According to one study, female college students who had access to role models who had made significant contributions to science, law, and politics have been less likely to adopt stereotypical views of women. It is simple to improve public awareness of accomplished women by including women on currency. Representation matters.
https://www.usmint.gov/news/inside-the-mint/history-of-women-on-coins#:~:text=In%201893%2C%20Queen%20Isabella%20of,few%20other%20coins%20celebrating%20women.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/kimelsesser/2022/01/11/the-maya-angelou-quarter-and-why-its-important-to-have-women-on-currency/?sh=4b25ef2af0ae
I'm struggling to connect this to the media, but I am interested to see who else they will put on the money! Who the US Mint decides to portray on their currency is inherently political whether it's something we think of often or not. There have been very few real women on coins until 2022, and there is still only a handful, which is odd considering that women also played a vital role in many American historical moments. This also makes me think about the Sacagawea dollar coin that was minted in the early 2000s, as I thought it was the only other woman on legal US tender, but (upon research) I also discovered that Hellen Keller quarters were minted for Alabama in 2003.
ReplyDeleteThe need to have a program like this goes back to my sentiment about archiving governments and policies every century. We need a program to make women feel included because men have treated them as a second class for so long. We have a blessed history with so many women who have been a part of the building or shaping of society. I love this idea; I hope we get to a point where this is common, and we highlight women as much as men for their contributions.
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