Historic: Asian American Featured in U.S. Coin

By Jennie L. Ilustre

 

Community leaders are lauding the choice of the late actress Anna May Wong as the first Asian American to be featured in U.S. currency.

The 25-cent coin is part of the American Women Quarters Program honoring outstanding women in their fields.

Wong was the nation’s first Chinese American actress. A trailblazer, she started as an extra at age 14 and had her first starring role in ”The Toll of the Sea” in 1922, according to NBC News.

She had a stellar 40-year international career on film, theater and television despite casting stereotypes and anti-miscegenation laws. She fought for representation for Asian Americans in the movies.

Remarked Linda Ng, OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates National President: “We are grateful that Anna May Wong’s legacy will be uplifted through the storytelling that this coin will offer.”

“Her life and career are inspiration not just to Asian Americans, but also to all diverse actors and actresses,” she added. “As more people ask and learn about this woman on their quarter, we hope that Anna May Wong becomes more easily recognized by the general public as a key figure in American history.”

 

American Story

David Uy, Executive Director of Chinese American Museum Foundation, stressed that the historic feat is timely, and that Wong’s story is part of America’s story.

He said: “The Anna May Wong quarter is more of what we need now…representation, visibility, and an opportunity to get people interested in learning more about a great Chinese American.

He pointed out: “The American Women quarter series isn’t just telling these stories because they are women. It highlights underrepresented history. It helps us tell a complete American story. If just a fraction of the 300 million Anna May Wong quarters inspire people to learn more, then we’ve done something incredible.”

The Wong quarter, sure to be a collectors’ item, began in circulation on October 24.

Wong is the fifth and final woman to grace the quarter this year. CNN reported that previous coins featured Maya Angelou, poet and activist, and Sally Ride, the first American woman in space. Wong, Cherokee Nation leader Wilma Mankiller and suffragist Nina Otero-Warren were chosen with input from the public.

In related news, NBC reported Gemma Chan, who got rave reviews in the hit film “Crazy Rich Asians,” will appear as Wong in a movie about her life. Chan will also be the film’s executive producer,

 

Inspiration

Brendan Flores, Chairman of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) said in an email:

“Anna May Wong becoming the first Asian American to be featured in U.S. currency is a great achievement for the entire Asian community.”

“She championed increased representation of Asian Americans in films,” he added. “When she noted that most Asian Americans in Hollywood were typecast as villains, she bravely stood up for them and asserted, ‘We are not like that!’’’

“Ms. Wong is an incredible reminder of hope and serves as an inspiration to the entire AAPI community. NaFFAA hopes Asian Americans across the United States will view the coin as a symbol and reminder of her courage in paving the way for more Asian Americans to succeed in this country,” he concluded.

 

U.S. Mint

In a statement, U.S. Mint Director Ventris C. Gibson said Wong was “a courageous advocate who championed for increased representation and more multi-dimensional roles for Asian American actors.”

 

Gibson said the Wong quarter was designed to reflect Wong’s “breadth and depth of accomplishments,” adding she overcame challenges and obstacles she faced during her lifetime.

In its website, U.S. Mint noted Wong “is remembered as an international film star, fashion icon, television trailblazer, and a champion for greater representation of Asian Americans in film. She continues to inspire actors and filmmakers today.”

The American Women Quarters program will choose five different women each year to be featured on the coin’s reverse side through 2025, according to CNN.

Next year, it added, confirmed designs will spotlight pilot Bessie Coleman, composer Edith Kanakaʻole, former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt, journalist and activist Jovita Idar and ballerina Maria Tallchief.

 

About Wong

Wong, (real name Wong Liu Tsong), was born in Los Angeles in 1905, according to the NBC News report by Brahmjot Kaur. She appeared in over 60 movies, including silent films and one of the first made in Technicolor.

She was the first Asian American lead star in a U.S. TV show, “The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong,” the report added. She played a Chinese detective.

Wong acted alongside legends, including Marlene Dietrich, Joan Crawford and Laurence Olivier, and appeared on stage in London and New York, according to CNN. She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960, a year before she passed away at age 56.