As the year of 2016, Harriet Tubman will replace Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill. What’s the first thing that came to my mind? Awesome! Women are finally being recognized in this country. What was on the mind of Donald Trump, my boyfriend and millions across the country? Harriet Tubman should not be placed on the $20 bill because she is black. In fact, Trevor Noah, a South African American comedian, stated that he's unimpressed with the outrage occurring over the change. He proposed that America should do what South Africa did: replace the white people on money with animals first, then segue into black icons.
After three hours of arguing with my boyfriend, I have reached the conclusion that the controversy of this change is centered around the matter of color, as it usually is these days. Why, though? Why should it matter if this woman is black? She is a woman that made an important impact upon this country and deserves to be given that recognition. As stated by Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, “The life of Harriet Tubman is really one of the great American stories and she was not compensated for much of her life.”
According to Huffpost Women, 352,431 people thought so too. In a conducted poll, Tubman beat out other competitors for the spot on the bill, such as Eleanor Roosevelt and Rosa Parks by 33.6 percent. I’d say that’s pretty drastic. So I guess it doesn’t matter if she’s black then, right? People chose her over numerous others. Well, wrong.
In an interview, Donald Trump stated that it was just “political correctness” that Tubman was placed on the bill. He believes that it would solve many problems if we just “create a new denomination” for her or simply put her on the $2 bill.
Now, what’s the issue with that? First of all, how many times have you seen a $2 bill? Not often, I bet. That bill is never seen in circulation, so why have it at all? I only knew they existed because of my father. Second of all, how is that fixing anything? She isn’t getting the recognition for what she did in the 1840s by freeing slaves from the south through the Underground Railroad. Why is it such a big deal that she’s going on the $20 bill instead of the $2 bill?
If any other white man were selected for this spot, there would be little to no discussion. Since the person replacing a former president is a woman, all hell breaks lose. The fact that this woman is black; there will be no end to the discussion.
Now, let’s bring in the discussion of how people are discussing that Tubman shouldn’t be on the bill because she was never president. Lesson: two people are represented on the US bills that were never President of this United States. Alexander Hamilton, the man on the $10 bill, was never president. Benjamin Franklin, the man on the $100 bill, was never president. In fact, the $1 million bill, which is only used as a promotional bill, has the Statue of Liberty printed on its face and no one has ever had an issue with that.
Not every president is on a bill and not every bill has a president. Maybe it’s fate that an influential and impactful woman is being placed on the bill. Andrew Jackson did not support the banking system in the first place, so, isn’t it ironic that he was on a monetary bill?
People that are placed on bills represent those who have impacted the United States’ history. They have become important in the growing and construction of America today. Those who have done just that deserve to be selected and placed on a dollar bill. After all, it was OK for people to suggest that Tubman be on a $2 bill.
So, congratulations to women everywhere. We made it on the U.S. currency and we will forever leave our mark. It doesn’t matter if we’re black, white, Asian or Hispanic in the end. What matters is that everyone is represented in this country equally because we are all making an impact in the United States and the importance of women in this country will finally be in circulation around the nation.
