The first African-American to appear on U.S. paper currency

Harriet Tubman becomes new
face of the $20
– Harriet Tubman, civil rights activist and
abolitionist, is the first African-American to
appear on U.S. paper currency
– She replaces former President Andrew
Jackson and becomes the new face of the
$20 bill

American abolitionist leader Harriet Tubman
(1820-1913) led many slaves to safety using
the abolitionist network known as the
Underground Railroad
Harriet Tubman is to grace the front of the
$20 bill, becoming the the first African-
American to appear on U.S. paper currency
and the first woman in more than a
century! The earth shattering news was
announced by U.S. Treasury Secretary
Jacob Lew on Wednesday, April 20.
He said: “We are putting a woman on the 20,
the 10, and the 5 and we are going to move as
quickly as we can get all of these bills out
there. With this decision, our currency will
now tell more of our story and reflect the
contributions of women as well as men to our
great democracy”
The $5 and $10 bills will also be redesigned
over the next four years, they would
feature renown suffragists, whose
movement gave women the right to
vote; the Lincoln Memorial depicting
crucisl historic events such as Martin Luther
King Jr.’s 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech and
other.
The front of the new $20 will bear the
portrait of Harriet Tubman, whose life
was dedicated to fighting for liberty.
pic.twitter.com/8lAEkoD78p
— Treasury Department (@USTreasury)
April 20, 2016
The new designs will start to go into effect
in 2020, however, when the new bills will
enter into circulation is unknown.
Harriet Tubman was an African-American
abolitionist, humanitarian, and a Union spy
during the American Civil War. Born a
slave Tubman escaped and subsequently
made some thirteen missions to rescue
approximately seventy enslaved families and
friends.
She is known for using the network of
antislavery activists and safe houses known
as the Underground Railroad. In the post-war
era was an active participant in the struggle
for women’s suffrage. After she died in 1913,
she became an icon of American courage
and freedom.