✍🏾: @jamilatdavis
The United States Mint announced last week that #BessieColeman, a trailblazing aviator, will be appear on select U.S. quarters in 2023, alongside four other pioneering women.
Coleman, a Texas native, made history more than a hundred years ago after becoming the first Black and first Native American woman to obtain an International Pilot’s License. She went on to build a very successful career in acrobatic, stunt flying.
Coleman, aka “Queen Bess,” has received numerous honors since her death in 1926, including having schools, streets, and libraries named after her. She was also inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame and received her own U.S Postal Service stamp.
Now she will appear on U.S. quarters, through the American Women Quarters Program, along with first lady Eleanor Roosevelt, America’s first prima ballerina Maria Tallchief, suffragist Jovita Ida and composer Edith Kanaka’ole. She is the second Black woman to appear on the U.S. quarter. #MayaAngelou was the first.
Grateful to see multiple Black women being acknowledged for their contributions in history. It’s our turn! #BWLM💕
