‘Why the New $20 Bill Matters’

In a recent blog post for The Huffington Post, Edward O’Donnell, associate professor of history at the College of the Holy Cross, discusses why it’s a good thing that Harriet Tubman will be the new face of the $20 bill. He says Tubman is a laudable replacement for Andrew Jackson, especially because of her embodiment of what O’Donnell calls “an essential and often undervalued American tradition of civil disobedience.”

“Every chapter in the unfolding story of American freedom, democracy, and justice has been written by people who were willing to defy unjust laws, despite the attendant risks to their lives, reputations, and property,” O’Donnell writes. “Like later activists fighting for labor rights, women’s rights, civil rights, and gay rights (just to name a few), [Tubman] broke laws to expose their unjust character and gain their repeal. What could be more American than that?”

O’Donnell continues to discuss the currency’s change and the importance of symbols: “It’s no mere coincidence that this has occurred at a time when public sentiment has demanded the removal of pro-Confederate symbols from the public square. And this fact should caution us against reading too much into the new $20 bill. Symbols are important. But they are not ends in themselves. The best ones call to our attention what we value and why.”

Read the full article at the Huffington Post website.

This Holy Cross in the News item by Jessica Kennedy.