Has it ever occurred to you that it has been over 100 years since we have had a woman on U.S. currency?

According to the LA Times, Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew stated that Harriet Tubman was recently selected to be on the $20 bill in order to recognize and remember her achievements. He also said that more than three different women would appear on the $5, $10 and the $20 bill.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 plays a role in this decision because Harriet Tubman will be the first African-American woman to be on the $20 bill. According to Warton University of Pennsylvania, Michael O’ Malley, professor of American history at George Mason University and author of Face Value: The Entwined Histories of Money and Race in America said, “Harriet Tubman is a great choice to reinforce the point that African-Americans were vital in their own liberation.”

I agree with O’Malley because many African-Americans, along with women in general have changed the world for the better by diminishing discrimination.

Tubman escaped her tragic life as a slave and chose to risk her life in order to free other slaves. At the time, women didn’t have the right to vote, so Tubman fought for her voting rights. As a woman, she made a tremendous difference during the 1850s, so she is worthy of being on the $20 bill.

Historian Kate Clifford Larson said, “Women should be on half of our currency and not just on the back. I think this is an opportunity to change more of our currency than just the $20 bill.” Larson has a great point because women deserve to be equal to men. The population of the U.S. includes men and women.

Women should also have an equal opportunity to be on the face of U.S. currency. According to CNN, many didn’t believe that Andrew Jackson deserved to be on the $20 bill because he was in charge of the “Trail of Tears,” which led to many deaths in the Native American population. While Tubman’s goal was to help save slaves, Andrew Jackson would slowly leave them to die. According to CNN, “The redesigned $10 bill is expected to enter circulation by 2020, in time for the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote.”

By having a sufficient amount of women on the U.S. currency, the U.S. will be able to state that they have given this privilege to those who truly deserve it. Men and women should be equal under any circumstances.