When Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew announced the new faces for American currency last week it created quite the controversy. One of the biggest changes is that Harriet Tubman, an abolitionist who helped rescue slaves through the Underground Railroad in the 1800s, will be added to the $20 bill. And, well, people are freaking out.The changes will not be official until 2020, according to a New York Times article. The five faces of
Lucretia Mott, Sojourner Truth, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Alice Paul and Susan B. Anthony will also be added to the back of the $10 bill for their leadership in the suffrage movement.Although this change is historical and under good judgment, many feel that putting Tubman on the $20 bill is ironic since wages between men and women, especially women of color are still unequal. Women who work full-time only make 78 percent of what men earn, according to the United States Department of Labor.
Adding these women to the U.S. currency is monumental because there has not been a woman on American paper currency in over 100 years, according to an article by The Atlantic.
If the wonderful news about H. Tubman on the $20 is true, it needs to happen asap. We've waited long enough @USTreasury@MAKERSwomen
Sophomore Caroline Ohashi, an elementary special education major said it is very empowering for this generation and it makes her sad to see people making jokes out of social change.
“Seeing male figures on currency is just the norm,” Ohashi said. “It’s very ironic that we’re still fighting – I hope that this will help in the right to direction to gain equal pay.”
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Jillian Powers, Women of Western reporter // @jillian_powers // Photo by Ian Koppe