[About Time] Guess the Black Icon Soon to Be on Your $20's
Pretty soon, we'll be saying, "It's all about the Tubmans, baby."
The United States Treasury Department announced on Wednesday afternoon that one of America's great liberators, Harriet Tubman, will replace slave-holding president Andrew Jackson on the center of the new $20 bill. Tubman is not the only woman who will grace newly designed bills, as changes for a new $10 note are also in the works.
The new designs from the Bureau of Engraving and Printing are set to be made public in 2020, just in time for the 100-year anniversary of woman's suffrage in the United States. None of the new bills will be put into circulation until the next decade.
The long wait to come has not affected the excitement people are feeling over the news, and many have already taken to Twitter to celebrate:
The $20 note is the perfect choice for Tubman, as Vox pointed out: the denomination of currency played an important role in Tubman rescuing her own father, who was on trial for helping slaves escape to freedom.
Slave-holding former president Andrew Jackson won't disappear from the bill entirely, though, and will still remain on the face of the currency.
The decision to put Tubman, and other diverse American heroes, on our money is decades overdue, but Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew is being praised for taking a huge step in the right direction. Now Tubman will not only be remembered for ferrying thousands of slaves to freedom, but will also be the first woman to come out of an ATM.
As for the $10's, after much lobbying by — you guessed it — fans of the Broadway hit Hamilton, Alexander Hamilton will remain on the face, but five other figures will be included on the back side of the notes. Those names have not yet been chosen, or at least not been revealed.
(Photos from Left: Corbis, Lawrence Manning/Corbis)