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V18 2015 INDEX       E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 18, Number 20, May 17, 2015, Article 15

HARRIET TUBMAN RECOMMENDED FOR THE U.S $20 NOTE

On May 13, 2015 the Washington Post reported on the status of the campaign to place a woman's portrait on U.S. currency. -Editor

Harriett Tubman note

A group that wants to kick Andrew Jackson off the $20 bill and replace him with a woman has, after months of collecting votes, chosen a successor: Harriet Tubman.

Tubman, an abolitionist who is remembered most for her role as a conductor in the "Underground Railroad," was one of four finalists for the nod from a group of campaigners calling themselves "Women on 20s." The campaign started earlier this year and has since inspired bills in the House and the Senate.

The other three finalists were former first lady and human rights activist Eleanor Roosevelt; civil rights figure Rosa Parks; and Wilma Mankiller, the first female chief of the Cherokee Nation. Women on 20s delivered a petition with the people's choice to the White House on Tuesday morning.

“Our paper bills are like pocket monuments to great figures in our history,” Women on 20s Executive Director Susan Ades Stone said in an e-mailed statement. “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 Tuesday's White House press briefing, Press Secretary Josh Earnest said that Tubman was a "wonderful choice" for the bill, but stopped short of saying whether the President backs putting Tubman on the $20.

If the government agrees that it's time to replace Andrew Jackson on the bill, its choice might not end up being Tubman. But the idea of putting a woman on America's paper currency has attracted some notable support.

Although the Women on 20s campaign plans to petition the White House, it is the Treasury Department that ultimately makes decisions on which bills feature which portraits. The last overhaul of paper money portraits by the department was in the 1920's, when Jackson replaced Grover Cleveland on the $20.

To read the complete article, see:
Harriet Tubman is your potential replacement for Jackson on the $20 (www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2015/05/12/your-potential-replacement-for-andrew-jackson-on-the-20-bill-harriet-tubman/)

The issue is picking up steam in many areas, even Hollywood. -Editor

Raven-Symoné faced a huge online backlash after revealing that she does not believe Harriet Tubman should be placed on a $20 note, claiming that she is not ‘progressive’ enough.

The 29-year-old actress made the comment while guest-hosting US talk show, The View.

Symone – who found fame on Disney’s That’s So Raven – disagreed with the outcome of an online poll which saw Tubman come top out of a list of potential female replacements for former President Andrew Jackson.

"I think we need to move a little bit more forward. Let me just preface that I understand the history, I get it, trust me, I was taught, I'm in that culture. There’s also Rosa Parks, Eleanor Roosevelt. I personally would’ve chosen Rosa Parks.”

While I don't recommend fawning over the opinions of people who've found a measure of fame, I don’t think this woman deserves the 'ignorant' label she's been given by some in social media. She was only saying she would prefer someone closer in time to her own generation than the Civil War era Tubman. -Editor

To read the complete article, see:
Raven-Symone branded 'ignorant' for claiming Harriet Tubman is not 'progressive' enough to feature on a bank note (www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/celebrity-news/raven-symone-branded-ignorant-for-claiming-harriet-tubman-is-not-progressive-enough-to-feature-on-a-bank-note-10251585.html)

Artist J.S.G. Boggs placed a young Harriett Tubman on his proposed $100 note. -Editor

Boggs Tubman 100

Charles Davis ad01


Wayne Homren, Editor

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