Liberty bells rang in the distance as Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew announced the new face of the $20 bill, abolitionist Harriet Tubman. The replacement of the seventh president of the United States of America, Andrew Jackson, with the Underground Railroad leader will be a monumental event in the enduring fight for equal rights nationwide.
Tubman guided runaway slaves to freedom via the Underground Railroad from 1853 to 1863, according to nypost.com. Her legacy will continue when she becomes a new face of American money. In the past, a dollar coin featured Susan B. Anthony that was mined from 1979 to 1981, a dollar piece featured Martha Washington that was first printed in 1886 and discontinued in 1957, and a gold dollar coin featured Sacagawea over 100 years ago.
“Of course, more work remains to tell the rich and textured history of our country. But with this decision, our currency will now tell more of our story and reflect the contributions of women as well as men to our great democracy,” Secretary Lew said, according to treasury.gov.
A group called Women on 20s actively promoted the expansion of the demographics represented in American currency for more than a year. They held an online election and after just ten weeks of campaigning, the organization collected 600,000 votes and presented the petition to President Barack Obama May 15, according to sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com. Afterward, the government collaborated and made the decision to introduce Harriet Tubman as the face of the $20 bill.
“Our paper bills are like pocket monuments to great figures in our history,” Executive Director of Women on 20s Ms. Susan Ades Stone said, in an e-mail to The Washington Post. “Our work won’t be done until we’re holding a Harriet $20 bill in our hands in time for the centennial of women’s suffrage in 2020.”
In addition, the $5 and $10 bill will undergo a similar transformation. The $10 bill will display a collage of American suffrage activists, as well as portraits of individuals who made history at the Lincoln Memorial. These women may include Lucretia Mott, Sojourner Truth, Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Alice Paul. These plans are supposed to take action not long after 2020, according to money.cnn.com.
“I’m very excited to see such an empowering woman on the twenty dollar bill. I think it is significant that she is not only a woman, but a woman of color representing our country,” Convent of the Sacred Heart senior Ruslana Kharevska said.
The study of influential women is embedded in the Sacred Heart history curriculum. Students acknowledge Tubman’s contributions in U.S. History classes, taught by Department of History Chair Mr. Vincent Badagliacca.
“The fact that Harriet Tubman risked her own life to end slavery shows that she was selfless and placed great faith in God. She was moved to help other people and this type of action is what Christianity is all about,” Mr. Badagliacca said. “She is a wonderful example for our students to live out the goals of a Sacred Heart education.”
– Christina Weiler, Arts and Entertainment Editor