Via Flickr
Many rejoiced when, in 2016, the Obama administration announced the newest design change coming to U.S. Currency: Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill! The change was to take place in 2020.
This was significant for so many reasons. Tubman - a formerly enslaved Black woman and one of the greatest Americans to ever live - would be replacing Andrew Jackson, who owned hundreds of slaves AND violently forced tens of thousands of Native Americans from their homes through the Trail of Tears.
So what happened? You might have guessed: Trump. The United States has never given due credit to Black women, and Trump embodies this bigotry. Not only is he particularly racist and sexist, but he also, fittingly, admires Andrew Jackson.
McGill University historian J.M. Opal explains: "Trump is the first president to so openly admire… Jackson.” He even put up a portrait of Jackson in the Oval Office. So, of course, he’s going to object to Jackson’s replacement by a Black woman.
We don’t know when Black women are going to get the love, support, and respect they deserve in America, but it’s definitely not going to happen while this buffoon is in office.
In the meantime, some activists have taken it upon themselves to create Harriet Tubman stamps, making their own DIY Tubman twenties! You can buy your own on Etsy. We know she’d approve.