Pioneering sculptor Isaac Scott Hathaway (pictured) was chosen as the first African American to design a U.S. Mint coin on this day 66 years ago. Then-President Harry S. Truman authorized a commission for the Mint to jump
start the design of a new 50-cent piece. Hathaway received the clearance to design the coin, which featured educator and author Booker T. Washington (pictured right) who was chosen as the coin’s face because Truman wanted “to commemorate the life and perpetuate the ideas and teachings of Booker T. Washington.”