She will become the first woman to be featured on U.S. paper currency.
Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time to celebrate. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew is expected to announce plans on Wednesday to put Alexander Hamilton on the front of the $10 bill and to knock former U.S. President Andrew Jackson off the front of the $20 in favor of the abolitionist, humanitarian, and Black History Heroine, Harriet Tubman!
Lew’s new currency designs also include putting leaders of the women’s suffrage movement on the back of the $10 bill, and incorporating civil rights era leaders and other important moments in American history onto the $5 bill. Jackson will likely be moved to the back of the bill.
Nevertheless, the response has been overwhelming.
In case you wondered if this was the Blackest Year EVER? Wonder no more. Harriet Tubman is about to be judging us on the $20 bill. LIT.
— Awesomely Luvvie (@Luvvie) April 20, 2016
The progress of being featured on the currency that was once used to purchase you and your relatives. Just, go head, Harriet Tubman.
— Akilah Hughes (@AkilahObviously) April 20, 2016
If the rumors are true about Harriet Tubman, the $20 bill is about to become my currency of choice. Like, if it’s 99 cents, here’s a $20.
— Tananarive Due (@TananariveDue) April 20, 2016
i cant wait to see the impact that having harriet tubman on the 20 is going to have on rap music
— Tracy Clayton (@brokeymcpoverty) April 20, 2016
Me currently writing my Harriet Tubman and capitalism thinkpiece: pic.twitter.com/B0GlGVirUH
— Philip Lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) April 20, 2016
And this guy
Last June, Lew announced that a woman would likely grace the front of the $10 bill, replacing Alexander Hamilton. However, this was met with backlash as the Pulitzer and Grammy award winning hip-hop musical “Hamilton” made the Founding Father and first Treasury Secretary immensely popular. The fact that Tubman is now replacing Andrew Jackson–often regarded as one of the most racist presidents of the United States–just seems like pure, poetic justice. The soonest we would see the new $20 bill will be 2030.
