On Wednesday, April 20, we were greeted with the announcement that civil rights activist of the 19th century, Harriet Tubman will be immortalized on the $20 bill replacing our seventh president Andrew Jackson. Unfortunately we won't see the "Tub Dub" until 2030, but it was still a proud moment for all of us to see that type of change to something so profound: our currency.
As the joyfulness was abound, so was the hatred and idiotic comments that spread. Many people spoke about how Harriet Tubman wasn't a President, so how she could be chosen? Others claim that the Harriet Tubman announcement was a late April Fool's Joke. Some tried to put a spin to the honor as a dishonor to the activist as she was being put on the same thing that kept her enslaved. Former Presidential candidate and famous neurosurgeon, Ben Carson, claimed that Andrew Jackson shouldn't be replaced on the $20 bill because he "saved our economy" and was an "excellent secretary and President." When the host asked him, "Do you like Harriet Tubman?," he said, "I love Harriet Tubman. I love what she did. But we can find another way to honor her -- maybe a $2 bill." Fox News' anchor Brian Kilmeade claimed taking Andrew Jackson off the bill is "taking apart our history."
Now what are my thoughts about this?
I am truly proud as an African American woman that I can hold in my hands a dollar with a face that looks just like me! I read a book about Harriet Tubman when I was in kindergarten and was moved about her courage and intelligence to get her people to freedom. Now that she is honored and I am living in the century that she's getting a huge honor in, it warms my spirit. Now, I am surprised on how many people are standing up for President Andrew Jackson. Nobody really cared about Andrew Jackson until he popped up in your history book for a quick second or you needed him to be in your wallet. Am I wrong? Or does it seem like some people are mad that an African American woman will the $20? Mm? Smells like "hidden racism" if you ask me.
Some questioned her position because she wasn't a President, but neither was Alexander Hamilton ($10) or Benjamin Franklin ($100). You weren't thinking about if Hamilton or Franklin was a president the day before, so dismiss yourself. Others said this was a late April Fool's Joke, but it was announced far later, and the U.S. Department of Treasury announced it. Do you think they would play about announcing information about money? Dismiss yourself. To the people that tried to spin the honor into dishonor, dismiss yourself for trying to bum down a good thing. To Ben Carson and FOX's Brian Kilmeade, Andrew Jackson was a murderer to Native Americans, even signed a bill to forcefully remove them (Indian Removal Act) from their land. Doesn't sound excellent to me. The man detested paper money! What more can I say? How is replacing Andrew Jackson taking apart history when Harriet Tubman is part of that very history? Harriet Tubman freed over three hundred slaves in her lifetime, using a secret tunnel called the "Underground Railroad." I think that's very historical, don't you think? So Carson and Kilmeade, bye!
