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A image of what a new $20 dollar bill featuring Harriet Tubman has been circulating online.
Harriet Tubman is not the only civil rights icon set to be honored on U.S. currency.
Secretary of Tresurary Jacob J. Lew announced that the $5 bill will also be redesigned and will feature images of historic events that impacted the Civil Rights movement that occurered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, including Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream Speech” and a 1939 performance by opera singer Marian Anderson. President Abraham Lincoln will remain the face of the $5 bill.
Tubman will replace Andrew Jackson as the face of the $20 bill, however, Jackson will still be featured on the back of the bill, and will be incorporated in some way with the image of the White House, Lew said.
President Andrew Hamilton will remain the face of the $10 bill will “honor the stories and the heroes of the women’s sufrrage movement against the background of the Treasury building.” Women to be included on the bill include Sojourner Truth, Susan B. Anthony, and Alice Paul.
“Our currency will now tell more of our story and reflect the contributions of women as well as men for our great democracy,” Lew told reporters during a press call Wednesday of the changes that will impact the $20, $10 and $5 bills.
Lew announced that he has asked the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, along with the Federal Reserve, to accelerate the process of producing the bills for circulation as quickly as possible “while ensuring we protect against counterfeiting through effective and sophisticated production.”
The Department has scheduled the release of the new designs for the three bills in 2020, in conjunction with the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, with circulation of the bills set to begin at a later date.
Lew recounted the extent of the thought that went into the final decision of placing Tubman at the front of the bill.
“The decision to put Harriet Tubman on the new $20 was driven by thousands of responses we received from Americans young and old, he said.
“I’ve been particularly struck by the many comments and reactions from children, for whom Harriet Tubman is not just a historical figure, but a role model for leadership and participation in our democracy. Her incredible story of courage and commitment to equality embody the ideals and democracy that our nation celebrates and we’ll continue to value her legacy by honoring on our currency,” Lew said.
Lew acknowledged that there were other suggestions for the face of the $20 bill, but Harriet Tubman was “just the most compelling story.”
“Harriet Tubman is a story that is just [an] essential story of American democracy about how one person, who grew up in slavery, never had the benefit to learn to read or write, could change the course of history this country because of her direct action. Because of what she did to risk her life to free people on an individual basis, what she did to help her country by being a spy during the Civil war and what she did after that to help drive the debate on women’s suffrage.” Lew said.
“That is a legacy of what an individual can do in a democracy who we’d all do well to learn from, which is why it’s so much the right image for our $20 bill,” he added.
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