SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
New Maya Angelous quarter released Monday by the U.S.Mint.
Still I Rise, Slightly: Maya Angelou Coin Released
After a decades-long fight - and, to be clear, amidst enduring, egregious inequities - a new U.S. quarter has begun life featuring the late poet, author and activist Maya Angelou, the first Black woman to appear on the coin. The Angelou tribute is the first in a program to feature iconic women, preferably of color, long ignored in a history and currency dominated by white, often slave-owning men. We take heart from her credo: When someone shows you who they are, believe them - and then work to change it. "You may trod me in the very dirt," she wrote. "But still, like dust, I'll rise."
Jan 10, 2022
After a decades-long fight - and, to be clear, amidst enduring, egregious inequities - the U.S. Mint has begun circulating a new quarter featuring the late poet, author and activist Maya Angelou, now the first Black woman to appear on the coin. The Angelou tribute is the first in an American Women Quarters Program aimed at honoring prominent women, preferably of color, long ignored in a history and currency dominated by old, white, often slave-owning men. Known for her lyrical writing and majestic voice, Angelou rose to fame after the publication of her seminal autobiography, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings," a harrowing account set in the segregated South of her brutal rape at the age of seven by her mother's boyfriend - a trauma that rendered her mute for six years. "There is no greater agony," she wrote much later, "than bearing an untold story inside you." Over time, Angelou won countless literary and humanitarian awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and was given over 50 honorary degrees. She died in 2014 at 86, having never ceased speaking her vivid truth: "You may write me down in history/With your bitter, twisted lies/You may trod me in the very dirt/But still, like dust, I'll rise."
The Women Quarters project is largely credited to California Rep. Barbara Lee, who after years of advocacy introduced the Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act of 2020; it passed last January. With Monday's release, she celebrated "the phenomenal women who shaped American history (who) have gone unrecognized for too long - especially women of color." There will be more, thanks to the Mint's invitation to the public to submit other entries: From now through 2025, the series will also feature Wilma Mankiller, the first female Cherokee chief; Adelina Otero-Warren, a New Mexico suffragette; Sally Ride, the first woman in space; and Anna May Wong, the first Chinese-American film star. "Each time we redesign our currency, (it says) something about our country - what we value and how we've progressed," said US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. Umm, yes and no, said Twitter. Many noted the new coin, echoing the Caged Bird, still has likely-slave-owner George Washington on the "heads" side; others asked where Harriet Tubman's long-awaited $20 bill is, or noted the country's still-raging misogyny, or suggested half a new coin is like a male boss giving a 40-cent raise and congratulating himself on your "empowerment." We take heart from Angelou. "When people show you who they are the first time, believe them," she famously wrote. Then, "When you don't like a thing...change it."
A free bird leaps
on the back of the wind
and floats downstream
till the current ends
and dips his wing
in the orange sun rays
and dares to claim the sky.
But a bird that stalks
down his narrow cage
can seldom see through
his bars of rage
his wings are clipped and
his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.
The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.
The free bird thinks of another breeze
and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees
and the fat worms waiting on a dawn bright lawn
and he names the sky his own.
But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.
The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Abby Zimet
Abby Zimet has written CD's Further column since 2008. A longtime, award-winning journalist, she moved to the Maine woods in the early 70s, where she spent a dozen years building a house, hauling water and writing before moving to Portland. Having come of political age during the Vietnam War, she has long been involved in women's, labor, anti-war, social justice and refugee rights issues. Email: azimet18@gmail.com
After a decades-long fight - and, to be clear, amidst enduring, egregious inequities - the U.S. Mint has begun circulating a new quarter featuring the late poet, author and activist Maya Angelou, now the first Black woman to appear on the coin. The Angelou tribute is the first in an American Women Quarters Program aimed at honoring prominent women, preferably of color, long ignored in a history and currency dominated by old, white, often slave-owning men. Known for her lyrical writing and majestic voice, Angelou rose to fame after the publication of her seminal autobiography, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings," a harrowing account set in the segregated South of her brutal rape at the age of seven by her mother's boyfriend - a trauma that rendered her mute for six years. "There is no greater agony," she wrote much later, "than bearing an untold story inside you." Over time, Angelou won countless literary and humanitarian awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and was given over 50 honorary degrees. She died in 2014 at 86, having never ceased speaking her vivid truth: "You may write me down in history/With your bitter, twisted lies/You may trod me in the very dirt/But still, like dust, I'll rise."
The Women Quarters project is largely credited to California Rep. Barbara Lee, who after years of advocacy introduced the Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act of 2020; it passed last January. With Monday's release, she celebrated "the phenomenal women who shaped American history (who) have gone unrecognized for too long - especially women of color." There will be more, thanks to the Mint's invitation to the public to submit other entries: From now through 2025, the series will also feature Wilma Mankiller, the first female Cherokee chief; Adelina Otero-Warren, a New Mexico suffragette; Sally Ride, the first woman in space; and Anna May Wong, the first Chinese-American film star. "Each time we redesign our currency, (it says) something about our country - what we value and how we've progressed," said US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. Umm, yes and no, said Twitter. Many noted the new coin, echoing the Caged Bird, still has likely-slave-owner George Washington on the "heads" side; others asked where Harriet Tubman's long-awaited $20 bill is, or noted the country's still-raging misogyny, or suggested half a new coin is like a male boss giving a 40-cent raise and congratulating himself on your "empowerment." We take heart from Angelou. "When people show you who they are the first time, believe them," she famously wrote. Then, "When you don't like a thing...change it."
A free bird leaps
on the back of the wind
and floats downstream
till the current ends
and dips his wing
in the orange sun rays
and dares to claim the sky.
But a bird that stalks
down his narrow cage
can seldom see through
his bars of rage
his wings are clipped and
his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.
The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.
The free bird thinks of another breeze
and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees
and the fat worms waiting on a dawn bright lawn
and he names the sky his own.
But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.
The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.
Abby Zimet
Abby Zimet has written CD's Further column since 2008. A longtime, award-winning journalist, she moved to the Maine woods in the early 70s, where she spent a dozen years building a house, hauling water and writing before moving to Portland. Having come of political age during the Vietnam War, she has long been involved in women's, labor, anti-war, social justice and refugee rights issues. Email: azimet18@gmail.com
After a decades-long fight - and, to be clear, amidst enduring, egregious inequities - the U.S. Mint has begun circulating a new quarter featuring the late poet, author and activist Maya Angelou, now the first Black woman to appear on the coin. The Angelou tribute is the first in an American Women Quarters Program aimed at honoring prominent women, preferably of color, long ignored in a history and currency dominated by old, white, often slave-owning men. Known for her lyrical writing and majestic voice, Angelou rose to fame after the publication of her seminal autobiography, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings," a harrowing account set in the segregated South of her brutal rape at the age of seven by her mother's boyfriend - a trauma that rendered her mute for six years. "There is no greater agony," she wrote much later, "than bearing an untold story inside you." Over time, Angelou won countless literary and humanitarian awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and was given over 50 honorary degrees. She died in 2014 at 86, having never ceased speaking her vivid truth: "You may write me down in history/With your bitter, twisted lies/You may trod me in the very dirt/But still, like dust, I'll rise."
The Women Quarters project is largely credited to California Rep. Barbara Lee, who after years of advocacy introduced the Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act of 2020; it passed last January. With Monday's release, she celebrated "the phenomenal women who shaped American history (who) have gone unrecognized for too long - especially women of color." There will be more, thanks to the Mint's invitation to the public to submit other entries: From now through 2025, the series will also feature Wilma Mankiller, the first female Cherokee chief; Adelina Otero-Warren, a New Mexico suffragette; Sally Ride, the first woman in space; and Anna May Wong, the first Chinese-American film star. "Each time we redesign our currency, (it says) something about our country - what we value and how we've progressed," said US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. Umm, yes and no, said Twitter. Many noted the new coin, echoing the Caged Bird, still has likely-slave-owner George Washington on the "heads" side; others asked where Harriet Tubman's long-awaited $20 bill is, or noted the country's still-raging misogyny, or suggested half a new coin is like a male boss giving a 40-cent raise and congratulating himself on your "empowerment." We take heart from Angelou. "When people show you who they are the first time, believe them," she famously wrote. Then, "When you don't like a thing...change it."
A free bird leaps
on the back of the wind
and floats downstream
till the current ends
and dips his wing
in the orange sun rays
and dares to claim the sky.
But a bird that stalks
down his narrow cage
can seldom see through
his bars of rage
his wings are clipped and
his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.
The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.
The free bird thinks of another breeze
and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees
and the fat worms waiting on a dawn bright lawn
and he names the sky his own.
But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.
The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.