Ven Hollen pushes U.S. Treasury Department on Harriet Tubman $20
Salisbury, Md. – On July 30, Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-New Hampshire) led eight other senators in pressing the Department of the Treasury to explain why it was no longer planning to redesign the $20 bill with Harriet Tubman’s likeness despite its plans to print a new $250 bill that would feature President Donald Trump’s likeness.
Van Hollen said in an interview with WMDT that Maryland’s Eastern Shore has been at the center of efforts to abolish slavery because two abolitionist champions, Fredrick Douglas and Harriet Tubman, were born there.
“Harriet Tubman was, of course, the conductor of the Underground Railroad. We think she should be celebrated as the American hero that she is,” he said.
Dorchester County Tourism Director Holly Gilpin said Tubman is a local hero and, after she was put on stamps and posthumously made a general in the National Guard, she and others have been patiently waiting for the Tubman $20 to become a reality.
“This is the next step in the trifecta. This is it. Well, let’s get her on some money. Let’s do it. We did it for Susan B Anthony. So let’s do it for Tubman,” she said.
William Jarmon, the director of the Harriet Tubman Museum and Educational Center, said not moving forward on the Tubman $20 bill felt like a step backward.
“It places a shadow over many of the bills and amendments that have been written based on a race that was totally ignored by this country,” he said.
He said he worried about what this message might mean for people of color and was disappointed to learn about the Treasury Department’s plans to make a new bill, a $250 banknote which currently does not exist, when there is already a $20 bill, and it could be made to honor someone who fought for the freedoms of Black people.
Van Hollen said that, though a law prevents living presidents from appearing on currency without approval from Congress, he alleges the Trump Administration is trying to find ways to circumvent it. However, he said he and other members of Congress are prepared to challenge the administration if plans move forward on the proposed currency.
