This is history in the making. Harriet Tubman will be replacing Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill, U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew plans to announce on Wednesday, April 20.
The abolitionist icon — Tubman helped hundreds of slaves escape to freedom via the Underground Railroad — will be the first woman depicted on U.S. paper currency, and will mark just one of several changes that the treasury has in store for Americans, according to Politico.
Sources tell the news site that the $5 bill will also undergo a makeover, with civil-rights-era leaders getting some recognition. The $10 bill will also get a slight tweak, with leaders of the movement to give women the right to vote depicted on the back of the bill.
Last July, Lew came under fire after suggesting that the treasury might replace Alexander Hamilton’s face entirely on the $10 bill, with critics noting that Hamilton held particular significance in the U.S. banking system, having helped create the modern American financial system.
“There are a number of options of how we can resolve this,” he told Politico following the backlash. “We’re not taking Alexander Hamilton off our currency. I work under a life-size portrait of Alexander Hamilton. I’ve probably read more about Alexander Hamilton than a lot of people who are now jumping up and being his defenders. He’s one of my heroes. He will be fully honored.”
See what people think about this latest currency shakeup:
https://twitter.com/greghoward88/status/722822313528455169
I still remember my 3rd grade teacher reading Harriet Tubman’s biography to us and thinking it was the greatest story I’d ever heard.
— Jon Favreau (@jonfavs) April 20, 2016
Harriet Tubman, a black slave, is replacing Andrew Jackson, a white slave owner, on our national currency. What a time to be alive.
— Jordan (@jordansdiamonds) April 20, 2016
The progress of being featured on the currency that was once used to purchase you and your relatives. Just, go head, Harriet Tubman.
— Akilah Hughes (@AkilahObviously) April 20, 2016
Hot: Harriet Tubman.
Not: Andrew Jackson.— Chris Tackett (@christackett) April 20, 2016
