Maya Angelou becomes first Black woman to appear on a US quarter

US treasury secretary says the writer and civil rights campaigner's appearance on the coin represents what we value, and how we've progressed as a society'

Maya Angelou has become the first Black woman ever to appear on a US quarter, after a coin featuring the late poet and activist's image went into circulation on Monday.

The quarter features an image of Angelou with her arms uplifted, a bird in flight and a rising sun behind her, with a portrait of George Washington on the heads" side. The US Mint said the image of Angelou was inspired by her poetry and symbolic of the way she lived".