I don’t disagree with anything in this article really, but I would rather see
Harriet Tubman’s face (if I could see it, that is) on the $20 bill than Andrew
Jackson’s ugly mug, and I find the fact that they’re just moving him to the
back of the bill to be the real slap in the face.
They’re putting Marian Anderson on the $5. Speaking of Marian Anderson and
thinking of her exclusion by the DAR from singing in Constitution Hall, I read
an article recently that a couple of black women from Boston are indeed being
inducted into that organization…their ancestor, a freed slave, fought in the
Revolution, and that’s the criterium for membership. I think this is absolutely
wonderful and hilarious poetic justice for those uppity white snobs, and I’m
not even sure these are the first black women to have gotten into the DAR…
I bet those old biddies who refused Marian Anderson are turning over in their
graves,, and I hope they’re nice and dizzy from it.
On Apr 23, 2016, at 10:15 PM, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Harriet Tubman and the Monetization of Black History
Thursday, 21 April 2016 00:00 By William C. Anderson, Truthout | Op-Ed
Harriet Tubman. (Photo: HB Lindsley / Library of Congress)Don't trust the
corporate media? Neither do we. Make a tax-deductible donation to Truthout
and support accurate, independent journalism.
There's a strange irony in printing the image of someone who spent her life
on the run because she was worth money onto money itself, as a supposed
honor. This hasn't stopped the US Treasury Department from announcing a
change replacing Andrew Jackson with Harriet Tubman on the face of the $20
bill. While many people see the change as progressive and indicative of
respect, others have taken issue with the contradictions therein.
Capitalism, bolstered by slave labor and steadily craving more chattel,
showed the US Bill of Rights and the Constitution to be fictional documents.
Now, as Tubman is chosen to grace US currency, we see the latest chapter of
a never-ending saga of consumption. Black people were and still are for
sale; Black history is for sale; and Black culture, too, is always for sale.
Andrew Jackson -- whose image will remain on the back of the $20 bill -- was
a horrible president, to say the least. He was a man dedicated to murder,
despair, oppression and genocide. His face, like the faces of many other US
presidents, haunts onlookers who know what commemorating such a person
means. Those who gladly welcomed the murder, enslavement and degradation of
my ancestors as well as others' ancestors stare at us regularly from money,
statues, state buildings, street names and more. This is a regular fact of
everyday existence in the United States.
The canon of capitalism tells us we should respect money more than anything
and cherish our right to use it freely. Therefore, putting someone's face on
a bill would be seen by many as a great honor. However, money is exactly
what drives much of the worldwide trauma that capitalism creates.
Consequently, since Andrew Jackson was a slaver, purveyor of Indigenous
genocide and ruthless military man, having his face on the $20 bill seemed
quite appropriate.
If the general consensus were that money is something filthy and that
capitalism is a crisis, there would be no question about the problems with
putting Harriet Tubman's face on a piece of money. This is not the case.
Money is something we need to function societally, something we aspire to
attain and something we often cherish when we have it. It's money's
necessity in our everyday lives that will make many view Tubman's presence
as a respectful representation. Yet, it's the continuous creeping of
corruption, environmental decimation and ruthless accumulation that argues
otherwise. The overwhelming wealth inequality, racialized poverty and gender
pay gap that pervade this country expose the "honor" bestowed upon Tubman as
a blatant mistruth.
In recent years, false notions of progress tend to dominate public
conversations around "diversity" and "inclusion." From the election of
sitting President Barack Obama (who will likely be blamed by bigots as if he
single-handedly chose Tubman) to this change of face in currency, these
symbolic acts become scraps to appease populations hungry for justice.
Moreover, monuments, commemorations and efforts to represent Black people
and our history often become engines to build capital. Civil rights tourism
allows travelers from around the world to visit the places where Black
people have been killed, enslaved and brutalized while merely trying to
secure some stability in an economy and social hierarchy that excluded and
marginalized them. Today, visitors to places like Selma's annual Bloody
Sunday commemoration can buy civil rights products and attend often
expensive events to their heart's content, while reflecting on a tragic
"past." The Martin Luther and Coretta Scott King Unity Breakfast this year
in Selma was $50 general admission and $500 per table. In a recent report
titled "Still a City of Slaves -- Selma, in the Words of Those Who Live
There," the Guardian reported:
In the US, joblessness for African Americans is roughly twice that of
whites. In Selma, which is 80% African American, joblessness runs even
higher. In 2010, unemployment in Selma reached 20%; it has since been cut in
half to 10%, but [is] still around twice the national average. Wages in
Selma (as for African Americans nationally) also badly lag the country, with
the median family income at roughly $25,000 -- half that of the US average.
There are countless theories offered by academics and politicians about why
African Americans disproportionately suffer higher joblessness and lower
wages -- a lack of education, dependence on manual labor, technological
shifts -- but to many Selma residents those theories are just excuses for
racism.
In Memphis, Tennessee, you can go to the very spot where Martin Luther King
Jr. was murdered and see a monument to him -- as well as to the bank
sponsors who didn't hesitate to advertise on the property. Memphis, which
has the highest energy cost burden in the country, has struggled with a
devastating poverty rate for years, with 30 percent living below the poverty
line. Just over 13 percent of lower-income households' income in Memphis is
spent on energy.
The same is true in many other Black historical landmark cities across the
country. In terms of poverty, the cities that closely follow Memphis for
most household income spent on energy are Birmingham, Atlanta and New
Orleans, according to the Pittsburgh Business Times. These are three cities
that make a lot of money on civil rights tourism, and their rich Black
histories in general. It's quite distressing that in cities that market
their history of brutality against Black people to visitors, the descendants
of those very people are disproportionately impoverished and struggling to
pay their bills. Plus, these Southern states (especially Alabama and
Louisiana) are filled with wretched prison systems where Black people are
killed, tortured and brutalized, just as Black people have been here for
centuries.
There's no realm of existence where Black people can escape so that our
bodies aren't taken advantage of on earth. Both sides of the political
"spectrum" are intent on criminalizing Black communities and subjecting them
to state-sponsored violence, and they often agree on making money off of the
history of anti-Black violence as well. It shouldn't come as a surprise that
a Black liberator is being used for money when many have already been making
money off of our histories of struggle at every turn.
Now, in the case of Harriet Tubman, she is being made into money. Her face
will be placed among men who would have sold her, killed her and committed
other egregious acts of violence against her if they would have had the
chance. She was a Black woman whose strength seemed endless. She is not
being honored by being placed on a weakening dollar.
Black people have been through incredibly distressing times, and if we know
anything, it's that we cannot always depend on money. When times have gotten
rough for Black people, we've always depended on our self-determination for
our freedom. It's this realization that leads me to ask: Why put a value on
a people, a history and a culture that's absolutely priceless?
Copyright, Truthout. May not be reprinted without permission.
WILLIAM C. ANDERSON
William C. Anderson is a freelance writer. Follow him on Twitter:
@Williamcson.
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Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.
Harriet Tubman and the Monetization of Black History
Thursday, 21 April 2016 00:00 By William C. Anderson, Truthout | Op-Ed
. font size Error! Hyperlink reference not valid. Error! Hyperlink
reference not valid.Error! Hyperlink reference not valid. Error! Hyperlink
reference not valid.
. Harriet Tubman. (Photo: HB Lindsley / Library of Congress)Don't
trust the corporate media? Neither do we. Make a tax-deductible donation to
Truthout and support accurate, independent journalism.
. There's a strange irony in printing the image of someone who spent
her life on the run because she was worth money onto money itself, as a
supposed honor. This hasn't stopped the US Treasury Department from
announcing a change replacing Andrew Jackson with Harriet Tubman on the face
of the $20 bill. While many people see the change as progressive and
indicative of respect, others have taken issue with the contradictions
therein. Capitalism, bolstered by slave labor and steadily craving more
chattel, showed the US Bill of Rights and the Constitution to be fictional
documents.
Now, as Tubman is chosen to grace US currency, we see the latest chapter of
a never-ending saga of consumption. Black people were and still are for
sale; Black history is for sale; and Black culture, too, is always for sale.
Andrew Jackson -- whose image will remain on the back of the $20 bill -- was
a horrible president, to say the least. He was a man dedicated to murder,
despair, oppression and genocide. His face, like the faces of many other US
presidents, haunts onlookers who know what commemorating such a person
means. Those who gladly welcomed the murder, enslavement and degradation of
my ancestors as well as others' ancestors stare at us regularly from money,
statues, state buildings, street names and more. This is a regular fact of
everyday existence in the United States.
The canon of capitalism tells us we should respect money more than anything
and cherish our right to use it freely. Therefore, putting someone's face on
a bill would be seen by many as a great honor. However, money is exactly
what drives much of the worldwide trauma that capitalism creates.
Consequently, since Andrew Jackson was a slaver, purveyor of Indigenous
genocide and ruthless military man, having his face on the $20 bill seemed
quite appropriate.
If the general consensus were that money is something filthy and that
capitalism is a crisis, there would be no question about the problems with
putting Harriet Tubman's face on a piece of money. This is not the case.
Money is something we need to function societally, something we aspire to
attain and something we often cherish when we have it. It's money's
necessity in our everyday lives that will make many view Tubman's presence
as a respectful representation. Yet, it's the continuous creeping of
corruption, environmental decimation and ruthless accumulation that argues
otherwise. The overwhelming wealth inequality, racialized poverty and gender
pay gap that pervade this country expose the "honor" bestowed upon Tubman as
a blatant mistruth.
In recent years, false notions of progress tend to dominate public
conversations around "diversity" and "inclusion." From the election of
sitting President Barack Obama (who will likely be blamed by bigots as if he
single-handedly chose Tubman) to this change of face in currency, these
symbolic acts become scraps to appease populations hungry for justice.
Moreover, monuments, commemorations and efforts to represent Black people
and our history often become engines to build capital. Civil rights tourism
allows travelers from around the world to visit the places where Black
people have been killed, enslaved and brutalized while merely trying to
secure some stability in an economy and social hierarchy that excluded and
marginalized them. Today, visitors to places like Selma's annual Bloody
Sunday commemoration can buy civil rights products and attend often
expensive events to their heart's content, while reflecting on a tragic
"past." The Martin Luther and Coretta Scott King Unity Breakfast this year
in Selma was $50 general admission and $500 per table. In a recent report
titled "Still a City of Slaves -- Selma, in the Words of Those Who Live
There," the Guardian reported:
In the US, joblessness for African Americans is roughly twice that of
whites. In Selma, which is 80% African American, joblessness runs even
higher. In 2010, unemployment in Selma reached 20%; it has since been cut in
half to 10%, but [is] still around twice the national average. Wages in
Selma (as for African Americans nationally) also badly lag the country, with
the median family income at roughly $25,000 -- half that of the US average.
There are countless theories offered by academics and politicians about why
African Americans disproportionately suffer higher joblessness and lower
wages -- a lack of education, dependence on manual labor, technological
shifts -- but to many Selma residents those theories are just excuses for
racism.
In Memphis, Tennessee, you can go to the very spot where Martin Luther King
Jr. was murdered and see a monument to him -- as well as to the bank
sponsors who didn't hesitate to advertise on the property. Memphis, which
has the highest energy cost burden in the country, has struggled with a
devastating poverty rate for years, with 30 percent living below the poverty
line. Just over 13 percent of lower-income households' income in Memphis is
spent on energy.
The same is true in many other Black historical landmark cities across the
country. In terms of poverty, the cities that closely follow Memphis for
most household income spent on energy are Birmingham, Atlanta and New
Orleans, according to the Pittsburgh Business Times. These are three cities
that make a lot of money on civil rights tourism, and their rich Black
histories in general. It's quite distressing that in cities that market
their history of brutality against Black people to visitors, the descendants
of those very people are disproportionately impoverished and struggling to
pay their bills. Plus, these Southern states (especially Alabama and
Louisiana) are filled with wretched prison systems where Black people are
killed, tortured and brutalized, just as Black people have been here for
centuries.
There's no realm of existence where Black people can escape so that our
bodies aren't taken advantage of on earth. Both sides of the political
"spectrum" are intent on criminalizing Black communities and subjecting them
to state-sponsored violence, and they often agree on making money off of the
history of anti-Black violence as well. It shouldn't come as a surprise that
a Black liberator is being used for money when many have already been making
money off of our histories of struggle at every turn.
Now, in the case of Harriet Tubman, she is being made into money. Her face
will be placed among men who would have sold her, killed her and committed
other egregious acts of violence against her if they would have had the
chance. She was a Black woman whose strength seemed endless. She is not
being honored by being placed on a weakening dollar.
Black people have been through incredibly distressing times, and if we know
anything, it's that we cannot always depend on money. When times have gotten
rough for Black people, we've always depended on our self-determination for
our freedom. It's this realization that leads me to ask: Why put a value on
a people, a history and a culture that's absolutely priceless?
Copyright, Truthout. May not be reprinted without permission.
William C. Anderson
William C. Anderson is a freelance writer. Follow him on Twitter:
@Williamcson.
Related Stories
Archaeologist, Black Feminist Unearths Contributions of African Diaspora,
Everyday People
By Max Eternity, Truthout | InterviewAny National "Conversation About Race"
Must Include Black Radical Tradition
By Adam Hudson, Truthout | News AnalysisFlag Controversies and Race Politics
in a Civil War Town
By Graham Stinnett, Truthout | News Analysis
Show Comments
