If you look inside your wallet right now, you will notice that there are no people of color or women on any U.S. paper money. The organization known as “Women on 20s” seeks to change this fact with a push to put a woman on the face of the $20 bill to replace Andrew Jackson. The year 2020 will mark the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote.
Women on 20s sought the advice of 100 historians and experts to identify 15 historic women to replace Jackson on the bill. Jackson was selected for replacement because of his history as a slave holder and his acts of genocide against Native Americans through his passage of the Indian Removal Act of 1830 (Trail of Tears). The organization may even have the support of President Barack Obama who last year talked about a letter he received from a young girl. The girl wrote and asked why there were no women on any U.S. bills. President Obama stated, “And then she gave me like a long list of possible women to put on our dollar bills and quarters … which I thought was a pretty good idea.”
The organization has put forth a list of 15 women to replace Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill that include:
- Harriet Tubman
- Sojourner Truth
- Rosa Parks
- Shirley Chisholm
- Barbara Jordan
- Eleanor Roosevelt
- Susan B. Anthony
- Clara Barton
- Rachel Carson
- Betty Friedan
- Patsy Mink
- Alice Paul
- Frances Perkins
- Margaret Sanger
- Elizabeth Cady Stanton
The public can vote on a candidate by going to the group’s website at www.womenon20s.org. Who do you think should be on the new $20 bill? Sound off in the comments section.
