U.S. Congresswoman Joyce Beatty has been working tirelessly for an image of Tubman to be placed on the bill

The move to place Harriet Tubman on the twenty-dollar bill is back on.

U.S. Congresswoman Joyce Beatty has been working tirelessly for Tubman’s image to be placed on the $20 note. Now that President Joe Biden is in office, Beatty is hoping to speed up the process of the “Woman on the Twenty Act of 2021” bill and replace Andrew Jackson’s image with a portrait of the late abolitionist.

Read More: Biden’s reversal of transgender military ban seen as ‘victory’ for equality

“For several years, I worked directly with the Department of Treasury to plan the release of the new $20 design featuring Harriet Tubman to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment,” said Beatty in a press release obtained by theGrio on January 25th.

“The American people want our currency to better reflect the diversity of our great country. I look forward to working with the Biden-Harris Administration, including the first-ever female Secretary of Treasury, Janet Yellen, to put a woman on the twenty and make the Tubman Twenty a reality.”

In 2015, during the Obama administration, Beatty introduced the “Woman on the Twenty Act” and spoke on the House floor in regards to putting Tubman on the bill. But during the Trump administration, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin did not commit to upholding the decision to put Tubman, who is arguably the most important historical figure in the nation’s history, on the bill.

Read More: Congressman implores Biden to fire USPS board for Trump attempt to ‘destroy’ Post Office

The bill was supposed to go into effect in 2020 due to a timeline created during the Obama administration. Mnuchin made a statement in June denying responsibility.

“I’m not going to comment on it because, as I’ve said, it’s not going to be my decision,” said Mnuchin. “It’s going to be a Treasury secretary’s decision in the future.”

But press secretary Jen Psaki announced Monday that plans to place Tubman back on the bill are moving forward. In a video posted on Twitter, she said, “It’s important that our money reflect the history and diversity of our country.”

Deputy Treasury Secretary nominee Wally Adeyemo spoke exclusively to theGrio, about why Tubman should be placed on the bill as soon as possible.

“It’s an issue that I worked on in the Obama Treasury Department was moving forward with the Tubman 20,” said Adeyemo. “But I think that it’s important that we make sure that the symbols of our country reflect the rich and diverse history of the country.”

He adds, “And I’m looking forward when I get back to Treasury to engaging with the team again to see what’s possible now so we can move on thinking about those currency issues. Of course, I want to talk to [Treasury Secretary] Janet [Yellen] about it, but from my perspective, this is one of those things that we should try to do as soon as possible because it gives us the ability to show up the full diversity of America and encourage us to show images of those who helped build this great country, things like our currency.”

Have you subscribed to theGrio’s podcast “Dear Culture”? Download our newest episodes now!

TheGrio is now on Apple TV, Amazon Fire, and Roku. Download theGrio today!

The post Biden admin wants to ‘speed up’ effort to place Harriet Tubman on $20 note appeared first on TheGrio.