22 Time March 1/March 8, 2021
many americans are exciTed ThaT The Biden adminis-
tration has revived plans to replace Andrew Jackson, the no-
toriously racist, slave-owning President known for his geno-
cidal policy of Indian removal, with Harriet Tubman on the
$20 bill. They view this tribute as progress, an overdue dis-
ruption of the Founding Fathers narrative. I do not.
I know in a country that worships at the altar of capitalism—
an economic system made possible by the free Black labor pro-
cured through the transatlantic slave trade—a Black woman’s
face on our currency seems like the highest honor we could
bestow. But what a stunning failure of imagination. Putting
Tubman on legal tender, when slaves in the U.S. were treated
as fungible commodities, is a supreme form of disrespect. The
imagery of her face changing hands as people exchange cash
for goods and services evokes for me discomfiting scenes of en-
slaved persons being handed over as payment for white debt
or anything white slaveholders wanted. America certainly owes
a debt to Black people, but this isn’t the way to repay it.
On the heels of Kamala Harris’ historic ascension to the vice
presidency, questions about representation figure heavily in our
political discussions. I believe Black people and people of color
should be in leadership positions in our government. But all
representation is not equal, and the desire to put a Black woman
on our currency represents an idea of diversity that is ahistori-
cal. It is the ignominious relationship of Black bodies to capital
that is the cause today of our most violent battles.
Consider that just weeks ago, a white mob stormed the
Capitol, with individuals carrying the Confederate flag. Amer-
ican lore suggests that the Confederate flag had never previ-
ously entered the U.S. Capitol. I say lore because we all know
that even if the Confederate flag had never been inside the
building, Confederate ideas have found a hearty welcome
there. Since this history has violently re-
inserted itself, demanding our reckoning
with a racist past that is never quite past,
we should note that Black people have
been on our money before. During the
Confederacy, images of enslaved people
picking cotton and doing other forms of
menial labor appeared on the currency
in several secessionist states.
The default position in America is
that Black bodies are useful only if they
turn a profit. We fought a bloody war
over this issue. Then the country built
a prison system based on the same prem-
ise, hence calls to abolish private pris-
ons, which often depend on free Black
labor to turn a profit.Harriet tubman’s life was about
fighting against the system that treated
Black lives as property, currency and capi-
tal. She was an emancipator, freeing her-
self and others and helping to bring the
Union forces to victory as a spy during
the Civil War. Would she consider it an
honor to have her face plastered on U.S.
currency? And if she agreed to the honor,
what would she ask for in return?
Nothing short, I am sure, of broad
structural change together with targeted
systemic interventions to aid Black com-
munities. A 2015 report put single Black
women’s median net wealth at $200; it
put Black men’s at $300. Nearly a quarter
of Black women live in poverty. And we
know Black women are disproportion-
ately represented as essential workers.
If Tubman is going to be linked to con-
versations on capital, they must be about
funneling resources and money into
Black communities to deal with wealth
and wage disparities, access to education
and safe housing, and social determinants
of poor Black health. Perhaps we need the
Harriet Tubman Reparations Act or the
Harriet Tubman Abolition of Prisons Act.
So many of the freedoms we enjoy
today are a result of Tubman’s heroic
efforts. But too often, America attempts
to atone for racism through style and
symbol rather than substance. We don’t
need America to put Black women on
its money. We need America to put its
money on Black women.Cooper is the author of Eloquent
Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers
Her SuperpowerOPINION
An insult to an abolitionist
By Brittney Cooper
America
certainly
owes a debt to
Black people,
but this isn’t
the way
to repay itTheView E s s ay
A congressional staffer holds a visual aide of a $20 bill featuring Tubman, in June 2019MICHAEL A. MCCOY—THE NEW YORK TIMES/REDUX