Newly redesigned $20 bill will feature Harriet Tubman on its face and Andrew Jackson on the reverse side.

Yesterday, Black folk in the US went absolutely crazy celebrating the announcement that abolitionist Harriet Tubman will replace President Andrew Jackson on the United States $20 bill. However, Andrew Jackson is not “off” the $20 as has been widely reported. Andrew Jackson will be on the reverse side of the new $20 bill along with a depiction of the White House. Any logical thinker and realist would know that the United States is not about to allow a woman, especially a black woman, to totally displace a white male on currency. Let’s just keep it real.

Also know that the $5 and $10 bills have also been redesigned. The concept for the newly redesigned bills will not be unveiled until 2020 and there is no firm date of when a decision on the final design for the bills will be made and the when the bills will be placed in circulation. Let that sink in. It will be four years before the “concept” will be unveiled. Also note that the U.S. Treasury website indicates that the $10 bill, honoring women’s suffrage leaders —Susan B. Anthony, Alice Paul, Sojourner Truth, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott, will be released first. 

Black folk, as a people group, have yet to rise to the level of actually earning the respect of the power brokers in this country because Black folk still don’t know, and therefore use, their actual power. So Black folk are frequently placated by superficial actions such as this redesign of United States currency. 

Don't get it twisted, Harriet Tubman on United States currency is a good thing. Sharing her depiction on currency with Andrew Jackson who was a slaveholder and lead in the genocide of Native Americans? Waiting at least four years for the bill to even be released into circulation? Not so much. Only in America are Blacks expected to be happy while they are being insulted. 

Related Links:

Introducing the New $20, $10 and $5!

Modern Money - Frequently Asked Questions

When I was small child, thought too young to pay attention to grown folks' conversation, I recall older folks talking about the sins of buying things on credit. Yeah, neither a borrower nor a lender be. Who knew a line from Shakespeare's Hamlet would be so profound?

Lenders have tightened the rules on loaning money thus forcing Americans to live within their means. The years of greed are gone for most of us and the bloodletting hasn't ceased.

As employers continue layoffs and families continue to tighten their belts, more fiscal challenges await.

When all is said and done, we must and will overcome this fiscal challenge the same way we've done in the past. No time for whining. We just have to do what we have to do. Changing our lifestyle won't be easy but it is necessary.