Women's History Month: American Women Quarters Program
New for 2024
Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray (1910-1985)
"Pauli Murray was breaking barriers from a young age. Held back by what Murray dubbed “Jane Crow,” s/he* was a staunch advocate for the rights of women and people of color and fought tirelessly for civil rights. As a poet, writer, activist, organizer, legal theorist, and priest, Murray was directly involved in, and helped articulate, the intellectual foundations of two of the most important social justice movements of the twentieth century."
Rothberg, Emma. “Pauli Murray.” National Women’s History Museum, 2021.
Zitkala-Ša (1876-1938)
"Zitkála-Šá (“Red Bird”), also known as Gertrude Simmons Bonnin, was a Native American musician, writer and activist who fought for women's suffrage and Indigenous voting rights in the early 20th century. Her writings and activism led to citizenship and voting rights for not only women, but all Indigenous people."
Mathias, Marisa. “Zitkála-Šá.” National Women’s History Museum, 2022.
Mary Edwards Walker (1832-1919)
"In all of United States History, there has only been one woman to receive the Medal of Honor. Mary Edwards Walker is that woman. As a surgeon, women’s rights advocate, abolitionist, and spy, Walker became the first female U.S. Army surgeon during the Civil War."
Alexander, Kerri Lee. “Mary Edwards Walker.” National Women’s History Museum, 2019.
Patsy Takemoto Mink (1927-2002)
"In 1959 when Hawaii became a U.S. State, Patsy Mink knew she wanted to run for a position in government. Little did she know, she would become the first woman of color elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and the first Asian-American woman to serve in Congress. In addition to writing bills like Title IX, the Early Childhood Education Act, and the Women's Educational Equity Act, Mink was the first Asian-American to run for U.S. President."
Alexander, Kerri Lee. “Patsy Mink.” National Women’s History Museum, 2019.
Celia Cruz (1924-2003)
"Known for her fashion and performance, Celia Cruz is honored as the “Queen of Salsa” for her role as the Afro Cuban diva who came to represent salsa music for audiences across the world."
Chavez, Herman Luis. "Celia Cruz: Queen of Salsa." National Park Service.
2024 American Women Quarters
American Women Quarters Program
In 2024 the U.S. Mint will release five new quarters as part of their American Women Quarters Program. This four-year program will run through 2025. The women honored by these quarters have made contributions to a variety of fields, including suffrage, civil rights, abolition, government, humanities, science, space, and the arts. Previous honorees include Dr. Sally Ride, Anna May Wong, and Maya Angelou.
This year's honorees are Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray, Patsy Takemoto Mink, Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, Celia Cruz, and Zitkala-Ša.
Please click through the slideshow to the left to see the newest quarter designs and to learn more about the trailblazing women they honor.
Whether you're working on a class project or just looking to learn, the ATC library staff is here to help you find the things you need.
General Resources
The Encyclopedia of Amazons by Call Number: OnlineISBN: 1453293647Publication Date: 2015-04-07An A-to-Z reference of female fighters in history, myth, and literature--from goddesses to gladiators to guerrilla warriors (Library Journal). The use of historical information and fictional traditions from Japan, Europe, Asia, and Africa gives this work a cross-cultural perspective that contextualizes the image of these unconventional depictions of might, valor, and greatness.
Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray
Pauli Murray by Call Number: OnlineISBN: 9781469654928Publication Date: 2020-05-11The Rev. Dr. Anna Pauline "Pauli" Murray (1910-1985) was a trailblazing social activist, writer, lawyer, civil rights organizer, and campaigner for gender rights. In the 1930s and 1940s, she was active in radical left-wing political groups and helped innovate nonviolent protest strategies against segregation that would become iconic in later decades, and in the 1960s, she cofounded the National Organization for Women (NOW). In addition, Murray became the first African American to receive a Yale law doctorate and the first black woman to be ordained an Episcopal priest. Yet, behind her great public successes, Murray battled many personal demons, including bouts of poor physical and mental health, conflicts over her gender and sexual identities, family traumas, and financial difficulties. In this intimate biography, Troy Saxby provides the most comprehensive account of Murray's inner life to date, revealing her struggles in poignant detail and deepening our understanding and admiration of her numerous achievements in the face of pronounced racism, homophobia, transphobia, and political persecution. Saxby interweaves the personal and the political, showing how the two are always entwined, to tell the life story of one of twentieth-century America's most fascinating and inspirational figures.- Song in a Weary Throat byCall Number: E185.97.M95 A3 1987 - Athens CampusISBN: 0060157046Publication Date: 1987-04-01The autobiography of an extraordinary black woman that presents a unique perspective on the experience of blacks and women in 20th-century America.
Zitkala-Ša
- Zitkala-Ša UNLADYLIKE2020A short documentary and biography presented by PBS.
- Bloom's literature (Films on Demand) This link opens in a new windowFeatures content from Facts On File's extensive print literature collection, hundreds of Harold Bloom's essays examining the lives and works of great writers throughout history and the world, and thousands of critical articles published by noted scholars under the Bloom's Literary Criticism imprint.
American Women Writers by Call Number: OnlineISBN: 1438150083Publication Date: 2016-02-01Includes an entry for Zitkala-Sa.
American Indian Stories by Call Number: E99 .Y25 Z57 1985ISBN: 0803299028Publication Date: 1985-12-01Zitkala-Sa (Gertrude Bonnin) was one of the early Indian writers to record tribal legends and tales from oral tradition. Impressions of an Indian Childhood describes her first eight yeas on the Yankton Reservation, where she was born in 1876. Her schooling in Indiana revealed a gift for writing that led in 1901 to the publication of Old Indian Legends, also a Bison Book. For the rest of her rife, this Sioux was in the poignant but creative position of trying to bridge the gap between her own culture and the dominant white one, unable to return fully to the former or to enter fully into the latter. These pieces, largely autobiographical, were first collected and published in 1921. With their reissue, Zitkala-Sa takes her rightful place among such native interpreters of Sioux culture as Charles A. Eastman and Luther Standing Bear .
Mary Edwards Walker
- Mary Edwards Walker: military surgeon who wore the trousersAn academic article by Georgina Ferry, published in The Lancet (2020)
Dr. Mary Walker by Call Number: OnlineISBN: 1280492546Publication Date: 2009-01-01In this biography, "Dr. Mary Walker," Sharon M. Harris steers away from a simplistic view and showcases Walker as a Medal of Honor recipient, examining her work as an activist, author, and Civil War surgeon, along with the many nineteenth-century issues she championed: political, social, medical, and legal reforms, abolition, temperance, gender equality, U.S. imperialism, and the New Woman. Rich in research and keyed to a new generation, "Dr. Mary Walker" captures its subject's articulate political voice, public self, and the realities of an individual whose ardent beliefs in justice helped shape the radical politics of her time.
Patsy Takemoto Mink
- Fierce and Fearless: Patsy Takemoto Mink, First Woman of Color in Congress byCall Number: OnlinePublication Date: 2023 - Vol 57 p.113
Our Voices, Our Histories by Call Number: OnlineISBN: 9781479821105Publication Date: 2020-03-10An innovative anthology showcasing Asian American and Pacific Islander women's histories Our Voices, Our Histories brings together thirty-five Asian American and Pacific Islander authors in a single volume to explore the historical experiences, perspectives, and actions of Asian American and Pacific Islander women in the United States and beyond. This volume is unique in exploring Asian American and Pacific Islander women's lives along local, transnational, and global dimensions. The contributions present new research on diverse aspects of Asian American and Pacific Islander women's history, from the politics of language, to the role of food, to experiences as adoptees, mixed race, and second generation, while acknowledging shared experiences as women of color in the United States. Our Voices, Our Histories showcases how new approaches in US history, Asian American and Pacific Islander studies, and Women's and Gender studies inform research on Asian American and Pacific Islander women. Attending to the collective voices of the women themselves, the volume seeks to transform current understandings of Asian American and Pacific Islander women's histories.
Celia Cruz
Cuban Women and Salsa by Call Number: OnlineISBN: 9781137382818Publication Date: 2014-10-23Salsa is both an American and transnational phenomenon, however women in salsa have been neglected. To explore how female singers negotiate issues of gender, race, and nation through their performances, Poey engages with the ways they problematize the idea of the nation and facilitate their musical performances' movement across multiple borders.
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