First African-American set to appear on US currency

The United States will have the first African-American to appear on its paper currency, also being the first woman in more than a century, the Treasury Department announced Wednesday.

Celebrated former US slave Harriet Tubman will replace President Andrew Jackson on the $20 banknote after the Treasury Department abandoned a previous plan to have a woman replace founding father Alexander Hamilton on the $10.

Harriet Tubman and President Andrew Jackson lived on opposite sides of the American experience.

Tubman, a black woman, escaped slavery to become a conductor on the Underground Railroad, risking her life to lead slaves to freedom. Jackson, the son of Scots-Irish immigrants and owner of slaves, was elected president as a war hero and became known for policies that led to the deaths of countless Native Americans.

Introduced alongside a slew of changes to the $5 and $10 notes as well, the redesign gives the Treasury “a chance to open the aperture to reflect more of America’s history,” Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said.

Lew said the designs should be unveiled by 2020 and go into circulation “as quickly as possible,” although he declined to say when. He said the $10 bill was scheduled to go out first, citing security needs.

Source: CCTV Africa