CARTOON: “What’s Your Twenty?”

From Clay Jones on his political cartoon “What’s Your Twenty?”Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill, and honoring a real American hero

Ultra right-wing scary conservatives have mixed emotions about replacing Andrew Jackson with Harriet Tubman on the twenty dollar bill. They’re not euphoric over the bill sporting a woman, or a black person, but on the other hand they’re getting rid of a Democrat.

Andrew Jackson was a slave owner, an ethnic cleanser, and an all around thin-skinned tyrant … back when Democrats were more like today’s Republicans.

What I think the Treasury Department should have done was just make the change and not tell anyone. That sort of chaos would have been a lot more entertaining to sadistic people such as myself. The Jackson lovers can calm down somewhat as he’ll remain on the back of the $20 bill, which is about as logical as placing Jefferson Davis on the back of the $5 bill, behind Lincoln.

Imagine if you’re a female born and raised in the United States (or if you’re a female that you’re already there). You live your life with the impression that your country doesn’t value you as much as a male. Everything is named after men. There are statues of men. Only men have been president. Only men are on the dollar. And that only applies to white men. And in our national image, most of those white men were slave owners. There are a few examples, such as the statue of Arthur Ashe in Richmond, Va., where he’s surrounded by statues of slave owners.

Harriet Tubman was born a slave around 1820 in Maryland. She ran away in 1849, following the north star by night to Philadelphia. The next year, after saving money as a maid, she returned south to save her sister’s family. Then she returned for others. For the next decade, she guided more than 300 slaves to freedom, risking her life and freedom over 19 trips. She is the most famous of the Underground Railroad’s conductors.

Some people are arguing that Tubman should not be on the bill since she wasn’t ever a president. Those critics need to tell us the years of the Ben Franklin and Alexander Hamilton presidencies (I am glad Mr. Hamilton will be hanging around). Others say she shouldn’t be on the bill because it’s insulting and ironic since she fought against the economic system that enslaved her. I think it’s a perfect place for her image and legacy. Imagine all the people opposed to this having to conduct transactions sporting her image. You go, girl!

I had to do a Google image search, not just on Harriet Tubman, but on a $20 bill. I had forgotten what they look like.