Washington, D.C. — Center for American Progress President and CEO Neera Tanden issued the following statement on the news that the U.S. Department of Treasury is moving to include prominent women’s and civil rights leaders on new currency designs, including Harriet Tubman as the new face of the $20 bill.
I welcome Treasury Secretary Jack Lew’s announcement that our currency will soon feature prominent leaders such as Harriet Tubman who helped pave the way for greater rights for women and people of color in the United States. This recognition is long overdue, and Tubman—along with Lucretia Mott, Sojourner Truth, Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Alice Paul, Marian Anderson, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Martin Luther King Jr.—are deserving choices for the updated $20, $10, and $5 bills. We celebrate this important step because we believe it is critical that Americans truly recognize all of our history, not just some of it, and that all the forms of change we make build a more perfect union.
For more information on this topic or to speak with an expert, contact Liz Bartolomeo at [email protected] or 202.481.8151.
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