Who was Stacey Park Milbern, first Korean-born figure to appear on US coin?
According to the US Mint, the quarter was issued as part of the American Women Quarters Program, a four-year initiative running from 2022 to 2025 to celebrate prominent American women. Each year, five women are honored with unique coin designs highlighting their accomplishments and contributions.
The Mint described the late Milbern as a 'visionary leader and powerful activist for people with disabilities.'
Born in Seoul to a Korean mother and an American father serving in the US Forces Korea, Milbern grew up in North Carolina. Her Korean name was Park Ji-hye. She was born with muscular dystrophy, a degenerative muscle disease and underwent multiple surgeries and treatments in her childhood.
As a teenager, Milbern began organizing with other disabled people to push for human rights. By age 16, she was already serving on multiple state committee focused on disability issues.
At 20, she played a key role in drafting and passing a 2007 North Carolina law designating October as Disability History and Awareness Month.
After graduating from college, she moved in 2011 to California's Bay Area, a historic hub of the disability rights movement. There, she founded the Disability Justice Culture Club, advancing the concept of 'disability justice,' which she and fellow activists had developed as teenagers.
The movement sought to promote the rights of people living at the intersection of disability and other marginalized identities, including people of color, immigrants, LGBTQ individuals and the unhoused.
In 2014, she was appointed by the Obama administration to the President's Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities, where she provided policy advice.
Even while undergoing treatment for kidney cancer, Milbern remained an active and passionate advocate. She died on May 19, 2020, from surgical complications. It was her 33rd birthday.
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