George Washington Carver / Booker T . Washington 1951 Silver Half Dollar
Designer : Isaac Scott Hathaway . Hathaway was the first Black artist whose work was produced by the US Mint .
Born into slavery , George Washington Carver became a famous agricultural scientist and inventor . He identified many alternative uses for peanuts , sweet potatoes and soybeans , and he helped Black farmers transition from growing cotton to alternative crops .
Booker T . Washington was a former slave who became a famous author , educator and orator . Washington served as an advisor to Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft . He founded the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute , now known as Tuskegee University . He believed economic self-reliance was the best way for Black people to eventually achieve equality .
Marian Anderson 1978 Bronze Medal
Designer : Frank Gasparro
Marian Anderson was a renowned contralto and one of the most celebrated singers of the 20th century , who was invited to sing at the White House , on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and at the Metropolitan Opera , in each case a first for a Black person . The 1939 Lincoln Memorial performance was facilitated by President Franklin D . Roosevelt , First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and the NAACP after the Daughters of the American Revolution denied her an opportunity to sing at Constitution Hall because she was a Black woman .
Joe Louis 1982 Bronze Medal
Designers : Michael Iacocca ( obverse ); David Redmond , a high school student and design contest winner , and Edgar Steever ( reverse )
Joe Louis , the “ Brown Bomber ,” was the second Black world heavyweight boxing champion , holding the title from 1937 to 1949 , and is considered to be one of the greatest heavyweights of all time . His 1938 defeat of the German boxer Max Schmeling not only avenged his only loss to that point , but delivered a stinging defeat of Hitler ’ s myth of Aryan supremacy . Louis was also instrumental in integrating the sport of golf , breaking the color barrier in 1952 by competing in the inaugural San Diego Open , a PGA tour event , through a sponsors exemption .
Jesse Owens 1988 Bronze Medal
Designer : T . James Ferrell
Jesse Owens was the first American track and field athlete to win four gold medals in a single Olympiad , at the 1936 Berlin Olympics . His historic performance disproved Hitler ’ s myth of Aryan supremacy . Known as the “ Buckeye Bullet ,” Owens became the first Black male captain of an Ohio State University varsity team . He set three world records and tied in a fourth at a championship meet within 45 minutes .
www . MoAF . org | Winter 2017 | FINANCIAL HISTORY 21