Currency as a Canvas, Celebrating Viola Desmond and Harriet Tubman

I spent half-a-day at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg. One exhibit told of civil rights activist Viola Desmond and her story of political resistance. I learned that in 1946, the Black Canadian and hair-salon owner refused to give up her seat in a whites-only area of a movie theater. She was convicted, but later posthumously pardoned. Since 2018 her face has graced the Canadian $10 bill. I pulled a $10 note from my wallet and confirmed her likeness.

Later that day, I considered Harriet Tubman, Black American and abolitionist. The Underground Railroad allowed her to escape slavery in 1849 and later helped free other enslaved people. The U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing proposed her likeness for the American $20 bill in 2020, but the Trump Administration delayed its printing until 2028.