Question: What do George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Alexander Hamilton, Andrew Jackson, Ulysses S. Grant, Benjamin Franklin, William McKinley, Grover Cleveland, James Madison, Salmon P. Chase and Woodrow Wilson have in common?
Answer: Their images are on all U.S paper currency. George is on the $1 bill and Woodrow on the $100,000 bill. The others, on bills between $1 and $100,000, are also white males. No African-American, Native American, Asian American or Hispanic image is found on American currency.
There are no females represented on the paper currency of the U.S., though Susan B. Anthony is on dollar coins minted between 1979 and 1981, Sacagawea on those minted from 1999 to the present and Eunice Kennedy Shriver is on a special commemorative silver dollar.
That could change. In recognition (and celebration) of the 100th anniversary in 2020 of women’s suffrage a grass roots movement hopes to change the future face of money by replacing Andrew Jackson with a female on the $20 bill. The organization spearheading the move is called “Women on 20s” (W20) and the first thing one see on their website is “W20: THE ELEMENTS OF EQUALITY.”
One also sees:
“The year 2020 marks the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment that granted women the right to vote. So it seems fitting to commemorate that milestone by voting to elevate women to a place that is today reserved exclusively for the men who shaped American history. That place is on our paper money. And that new portrait can become a symbol of greater changes to come.
“Let’s make the names of female ‘disrupters’ the ones who led the way and dared to think differently as well-known as their male counterparts. In the process, maybe it will get a little easier to see the way to full political, social and economic equality for women. And hopefully it won’t take another century to realize the motto inscribed on our money: E pluribus unum, or ‘Out of many, one.’”
W20 started with a large list of American women who have contributed significantly to America’s history, culture and morality. More than a quarter million people voted for their favorite candidates until the list is down to four candidates: Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962), Harriet Tubman (1822-1913), Rosa Parks (1913-2005) and Wilma Mankiller (1945-2010). Everyone is welcome to vote for one of the four candidates to replace Andrew Jackson on the $20 simply by going to the W20 website. You can also find compelling reasons why Jackson, who is generally viewed by Native American people and nicknamed “Indian Killer” as the very worst of all U.S. Presidents, should be replaced.
When a winner is determined W20 will petition President Obama, who has said “…it is a pretty good idea” to put more images of women on U.S. currency,” to make the change. Go to W20 and cast your vote.
I voted for Rosa Parks for many reasons including remembering when she finally had enough of inequality and took a stand, or, rather, kept her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama bus and later said of herself, “I would like to be remembered as a person who wanted to be free…so other people would also be free.”
Me too.
Wouldn’t you?

(Update on old column) Well…..Rosa didn’t win, Harriet did, but before the future face of money could arrive the title of very worst of all U.S. Presidents was transferred from Jackson to Trump who promptly hung a portrait of Jackson in his White House office. Then the worst President in history had one of his munchkins, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, announce that “for technical reasons” the note would be delayed for six years, despite the reality that all the technical work on the bill had already been done under the Obama administration. As we all know, anything that was ok with Obama is not ok with Trump, including having the image of a black woman replace a white male racist on the U.S. $20 bill.
So it stands at this writing.
Some fun protest is available. Go to Etsy.com and get a Tubman stamp and you can stamp all your $20 bills with the image of Harriet over the old image of Jackson. It’s great fun to spend those bills and see the reaction of people when they notice Harriet instead of Andrew gazing back at them. Most but not all of the reactions are positive, and both are educational for everyone involved.