US Mint begins shipping quarters honoring Maya Angelou

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States Mint says it has begun shipping quarters featuring the image of poet Maya Angelou. They’re the first coins in its American Women Quarters Program. Angelou was an American author, poet and Civil Rights activist who rose to prominence with the publication  of “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” in 1969. She was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2010 by President Barack Obama and died in 2014 at the age of 86. The quarter design depicts Angelou with outstretched arms. Behind her are a bird in flight and a rising sun, images inspired by her poetry.