Currency around the world has been changing for the past decade, while the United States trails behind. With the 100-dollar bill having been changed to make it harder to counterfeit, it was not a drastic change like it would be with the 20-dollar bill. It was announced April 20, 2016 that the 20-dollar bill would be redesigned to feature Harriet Tubman as the face of the bill, with Andrew Jackson in a small scale on the back along with the White House.

In countries like Canada and Mexico, the currency is made of plastic, making it harder to counterfeit and also depicts important people from history or locations within their countries. Both countries have the faces of their previous prime ministers or presidents, but they also depict the people who helped change and shape the nation while even giving tribute to the Native Americans in Mexico’s case and Queen Elizabeth II in Canada’s.

They had to adjust from paper to plastic in their everyday life. I still see paper every now and then when I visit Mexico, as the country is still adjusting to the transition, but people accepted it and moved on with their lives. Why is changing the face of a bill such a big issue in the United States, when there are people who are homeless and families living on a prayer?

The changing of the bill in my opinion is one of the few steps leading in the right direction. With the issue of racism becoming more prevalent in today’s society, people question whether Harriet Tubman was selected because she was a woman and black (not taking away from the freedom she brought to slaves or the courage it took knowing what could happen to her if she were caught by the Confederates). Tubman is a woman I have heard about since I was a child and admire for the fact she risked her life to give people their birthright— freedom.

Why are people so offended by the fact that Tubman will replace Andrew Jackson? Yes, change can be hard and takes time to adjust to, but in all honesty I would rather a woman who committed a crime to free people than a man, even if he was a president, who is responsible for the trail of tears and owned slaves. Jackson is the president who is responsible for signing the Indian Removal Act on May 28, 1830. The act ended the rights of the Native Americans to live in states under their own traditional laws. They were forced to choose between US laws or leave their homelands. Maybe the government did choose her because she is a woman and black, but how I see it is she made an impact in history enough of us to have learned about her throughout the years. She made enough of a change on the nation for her fellow slaves and is worthy enough to be put on the bill.

Yes, the treasury could have considered a Native American for the face, considering the history the Europeans have with the Native Americans, but in a sense the change with Tubman could hopefully close the current gap between races and cultures.