The Color of Money or How to Redesign a “Monument in Your Pocket”

Abstract

In 2016, the Treasury Department announced that the redesigned $20 bill would feature Harriet Tubman on its front, sparking jubilation from women activists who had campaigned for female representation on paper currency, which leaders referred to as a “monument in your pocket.” But the redesign also brought sharp rebukes from white conservatives, including Republican presidential candidates, who accused the Treasury of capitulating to “political correctness” at the expense of the honor and memory of President Andrew Jackson. This essay uses a comparative content analysis of dominant and people-of-color-focused news and editorial coverage of the redesign to incite a reparative, black feminist reading of how news contributors shaped and reshaped public memories of Tubman and Jackson.