Only a quarter for Maya Angelou? ‘Come on, America,’ says Whoopi Goldberg

A penny for Whoopi Goldberg’s thoughts on the new Maya Angelou quarter?

This week, legendary poet Angelou became the first Black woman to appear on the 25-cent U.S. coin — a gesture Goldberg and her “View� co-hosts opined on briefly during Tuesday’s episode of the daytime talk series.

“I want to point out that not too long ago, we were expecting to have Harriet Tubman gracing the $20 bill. Remember that?� Goldberg said at the top of the show.

“But now it looks like the price has been slashed to a quarter, because now we have Maya Angelou on a quarter.�

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According to the New York Times, the U.S. Mint began circulating the Angelou quarter Monday as part of a series of currency intended to pay homage to pioneering American women. The Mint also plans to produce quarters for trailblazing astronaut Sally Ride, Native American activist Wilma Mankiller, New Mexico voting rights leader Nina Otero-Warren and Chinese American screen icon Anna May Wong.

The first coin in the series depicts Angelou spreading her arms in the shadow of a bird — a visual nod to her seminal autobiography, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.�

Though Goldberg noted that “having Maya anywhere is a magnificent thing� and called the engraving of the writer “beautiful,� she challenged the United States to do more to honor a figure as revered and influential as Angelou.

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“Come on, America,� Goldberg said.

“You don’t think this is gonna make folks feel a little bit uncomfortable? We wanted a $20 bill. Now you have all of these powerful women, and you put them all on quarters? Come on. What’s gonna happen with the penny? That’s what I want to know.�

Goldberg returned to “The View� on Monday after taking a weeklong break to recover from COVID-19. She is among a handful of TV hosts to contract the coronavirus as the highly contagious Omicron variant continues to spread across the country.

“If you can get vaccinated ... do yourself a favor,� Goldberg — who received a COVID-19 vaccine and booster shot before testing positive and experiencing mild symptoms — told viewers last week.

“I don’t want to be in the house. I don’t want to be quarantining in place. But this is what’s best for the many, not just what’s best for the few.�