This year continues to be the first of many for African-Americans. Now, Duke Ellington is the first Black person to be featured prominently on a United States coin in circulation, according to CNN.com. The country’s Mint debuted the new quarter for the District of Columbia on February 23 with President George Washington on one side and jazz trailblazer Ellington on the other. Residents of the city chose him over Frederick Douglass and Benjamin Banneker to represent the historic home of our democracy.—CJ