Who is she? Why is she great? There are people who think they know the answer or at least they have a few options, fifteen to be exact. There is a small campaign trying to garner support to put a woman on a $20 dollar bill by 2020. The initiators named the campaign “Women on the 20s,” an apt name for their cause. Their mission is simple. From their selected candidates, they want to find a winner. The one the public votes for. Then they can start the real work, convincing everybody else.
It is an intriguing idea. Change American currency. Add a woman amongst the faces of men that we find in our wallets. If this became a reality, she would be the first female to grace our pockets with her presence.
Eleanor Roosevelt. Harriet Tubman. Clara Barton. Susan B. Anthony. These candidates made me think this might not be a bad idea. When I saw Rosa Parks on the list, fond memories came to mind. Memories of being inspired that the small acts of courage can bring so much good. However, the remaining candidates listed were a bit disenchanting. Especially when my eyes narrowed on one Margret Sanger.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with her, here are some brief anecdotes. She helped to legalize contraception in America. Organizations she founded eventually evolved into what is known today as Planned Parenthood. She is upheld as a great advocate for reproductive rights. What most do not know is that she believed in eugenics and eventual elimination of those she thought were unfit, which included African Americans.
Her own words betray her true colors.
“Our failure to segregate morons who are increasing and multiplying… demonstrates our foolhardy and extravagant sentimentalism…”
“We should hire three or four colored ministers, preferably with social-service backgrounds, and with engaging personalities. The most successful educational approach to the Negro is through a religious appeal. We don’t want the word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population. And the minister is the man who can straighten out that idea if it ever occurs to any of their more rebellious members.”
The people running this campaign either have never studied history, or they selectively studied it, focusing on what they liked to remember rather than seeing the whole picture. Hopefully, people do not vote for someone that had a twisted view of humanity. Hopefully, American currency never has the face of someone whose legacy is tied to the murder of innocent lives. Perhaps, a woman like Eleanor Roosevelt would be campaigned for and ultimately petitioned. Perhaps, this campaign will gain no steam and Andrew Jackson will stay where he is.
Nevertheless, this campaign to see a woman on the $20 dollar bill raises important questions. What are the criteria for someone to be called a great American woman? In the women, we uphold as epitomizing greatness we need to see the impact of our decisions. The women we credit with contributing greatly to America will undoubtedly impact the values we want to encourage.
As feminists fervently seek to achieve their goals with reproductive rights in securing abortion as a national staple, we must stand back and ask ourselves is a legacy of a contraceptive mindset and abortion something we really want handed down as a legacy to our daughters? What message do we want to send young girls, Americans, and even the world about womanhood?
Whatever we hand down it should be something worth being proud of as a part of
our American heritage. Any woman, we uphold must be a beacon of light, of truth, of virtue. She must be a part of the realization of the American dream of the pursuit of happiness, of freedom. Ultimately she must be a reminder of goodness. There is enough evil and hate in the world. If there is a great American woman, she must be the opposite. She must be a reminder of love, goodness, and courage. Who do you think she is?
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