Dear Friend,

We have some important news that we hope lifts your spirits!

First: We wish we were writing to say that we will have our Tubman $20 sooner than the 2030-or-later period that Secretary Yellen announced last spring. That said, we can still lobby the US Treasury to expedite the process. We now have a new Treasurer, the Honorable Marilyn Malerba, Mohegan Chief and nurse. We are hopeful that she will be an amazing Treasurer and sensitive to the nearly 100-year-old offense of honoring the slave trader and architect of the Indian Removal Act, Andrew Jackson. We are optimistic that under her leadership—and  the energy of other new folks at the Treasury and the Fed who are focused on racial equity—both sides of the redesigned $20 will be free of Jackson’s image. 

Second: Another game-changing event! Dr. Clarence Lusane’s newest book, Twenty Dollars and Change: Harriet Tubman and the Ongoing Fight for Racial Justice and Democracy, is about to be released. In his groundbreaking analysis, Dr. Lusane applies the lessons of Tubman’s life and legacy to our current political moment, urging not only that Tubman replace Jackson on the face of our currency, but that we confront and abolish racism and sexism with the same urgency and sense of mission that impelled Tubman’s fight to end slavery. We wholeheartedly agree with Dr. Lusane’s critical premise: racist historical narratives and pervasive social inequities are inextricably linked—changing one helps transform the other. 

We are so excited about his book and the conversations that will emerge from his work, and urge you to get your copy.  We hope that you will join us to celebrate this work and continue to advocate for Twenty Dollars AND Change. We've included here the press release announcing Dr. Lusane’s book. 

Pa’lante!

Barbara Ortiz Howard