Illustrations by Sneha Gaur
The new $20 bill is projected to have one important change in the near future: Harriet Tubman’s face will be replacing President Andrew Jackson’s as the main image. Tubman will be the first African American person to be featured on U.S. currency in its history, partially due to a campaign for change by multiple online groups and Jackson’s ownership of slaves and removal of Native Americans. She will also be the third woman to be placed on paper currency, with Pocahontas being the first on the back of the $20 bill in the 1860s and Martha Washington being the second on the $1 silver certificate in the 1880s. The Tubman bill is slated to debut in 2020 and enter standard circulation later that decade. We asked four people what they thought of this change.
I think it’s a great idea. I love the idea that we can revamp our money and show our appreciation for other historical figures besides just dead white men, though I think it’s really annoying that the Treasury is going to wait 13, 14 years before the new $20 is put out.
Significant women in American history should really be considered [to be put on the bill in the future]. Bills are [also] generally worth a lot more…and are used much more in circulation, so putting a woman on money in terms of bills rather than coins is, I feel, a stronger political statement.
In my opinion, women of color are kind of the most downtrodden folk of America. They tend to experience the hardest everyday situations like microaggressions and whatnot. So it’s a pretty good deal that an abolitionist black woman is going to be on the $20 bill.
I don’t think people look at money and say, ‘Oh, that’s the person on the bill.’ They don’t really think about their significance. [From what I’ve seen], they just think it’s money and look at the numbers on the top and go by how much it’s worth. I just think that another face on the bill won’t make a big difference.
