Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou held a plethora of career titles: poet, civil rights activist, memoirist, professor, actress, writer, director - the list goes on. She wrote seven autobiographies, including I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, which is commonly taught in schools and universities, though some libraries in the US have attempted to ban the book. Angelou’s poetry has influenced many hip hop artists like Kanye West, Nicki Minaj, Common, and Tupac Shakur. Angelou is the first black woman to be featured on the quarter, which was launched this year.