Treasury Secretary Jack Lew announced the changes on Wednesday April 20.
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“Currency can help to tell a story of a nation, where we came from, what we believe in and where we are going”, Higgins said. “Her incredible story of courage and commitment to equality embody the ideals and democracy that our nation celebrates and we’ll continue to value her legacy by honoring on our currency”, Lew said.
“Harriet Tubman was a woman of faith who was not afraid to act on her beliefs to fight for justice”, said Kristina Arriaga, executive director of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty.
Tubman will replace Andrew Jackson as the face of the $20 bill, however, Jackson will still be featured on the back of the bill, and will be incorporated in some way with the image of the White House, Lew said.
Trump suggested – as Ben Carson also has – that Tubman be put on the $2 bill, which was no longer printed.
The last woman featured on US paper money was Martha Washington, who was on a dollar silver certificate from 1891 to 1896.
Tubman is known for her role in helping US slaves escape to freedom during the Civil War. She repeatedly put herself in the line of fire to free people who were treated as currency themselves.
On Wednesday, the movement’s leaders said they were “ready to claim victory” but only if the bill was issued by 2020 to mark the 100th anniversary of women gaining the right to vote. It was the catalyst to begin the forced removal of the Native American tribes of the Southeast to Indian Territory (Oklahoma).
While Tubman wasn’t the only famous woman Sofia offered, she is very happy with the choice.
“You could argue that there were hundreds of Harriet Tubmans, but there was only one real Harriet Tubman in terms of the one who would ultimately receive the kind of acclaim and notoriety as she did”.
Harriet Tubman may have lived in Auburn, New York – about 120 miles east of Buffalo – but she had strong ties to Western New York.
President Abraham Lincoln is staying on the $5 bill, but the reverse, which now has the Lincoln Memorial in D.C., will feature opera singer Marian Anderson, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and Martin Luther King Jr.
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Tubman will not be the only woman pictured on USA paper money.
