Twenty Dollars and Change places Harriet Tubman’s life and legacy in a long tradition of resistance, illuminating the ongoing struggle to realize a democracy in which her emancipatory vision prevails. America is in the throes of a historic reckoning with racism, with the battle for control over official narratives at ground zero. Across the country, politicians, city councils, and school boards are engaged in a highly polarized debate about whose accomplishments should be recognized, and whose point of view should be included in the telling of America’s history. In Twenty Dollars and Change , political scientist Clarence Lusane, author of the acclaimed The  Black History of the White House , writes from a basic premise: Racist historical narratives and pervasive social inequities are inextricably linked—changing one can transform the other. Taking up the debate over the future of the twenty-dollar bill, Lusane uses the question of Harriet Tubman vs. Andrew Jackson as a lens through which to view the current state of our nation's ongoing reckoning with the legacies of slavery and foundational white supremacy. He places the struggle to confront unjust social conditions in direct connection with the push to transform our public symbols, making it plain that any choice of whose life deserves to be remembered and honored is a direct reflection of whose basic rights are deemed worthy of protection, and whose are not. "Engaging and insightful, Twenty Dollars and Change  illuminates the grassroots effort to have our national currency reflect the diversity of America and all of its citizens—those ordinary and extraordinary people who have stood up and demanded freedom, equality and justice. A must read!"— Kate Clifford Larson,   author of  Bound for the Promised Land: Harriet Tubman, Portrait of an American Hero "A timely political and historical study of racism in America, Twenty Dollars and Change: Harriet Tubman and the Ongoing Fight for Racial Justice and Democracy is informatively enhanced with the inclusion of fifty-two pages of Notes and a fourteen page Index. Of particular relevance and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, college, and university library Contemporary Social Issues, African-American Racial/Political History, and African/American Demographic Studies collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists, it should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, political activists, governmental policy makers, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that Twenty Dollars and Change: Harriet Tubman and the Ongoing Fight for Racial Justice and Democracy is also available in a digital book format." —Midwest Book Review "Dr. Clarence Lusane’s recently published Twenty Dollars and Change: Harriett Tubman and the Ongoing Fight for Racial Justice and Democracy , walks us through the history of the faces that adorn American currency and all the arguments for and against Tubman’s ascension to be the face of the twenty. He adroitly covers a vast historical landscape with poetry and precision and places the “Tubman Debate” into the context of current racial hierarchies and politics."— Romi Mahajan, Countercurrents "Thoughtfully balanced and nuanced, Twenty Dollars and Change explores the ways that American hero and national icon Harriet Tubman resonates across racial, gender, and political divides. Lusane captures not only the significance of historic symbols, but how winning the fight over representation and memory advances the ongoing struggles for racial justice and democracy right now." — Janell Hobson, editor of Ms. Magazine's Harriet Tubman Bicentennial Project and author of When God Lost Her Tongue: Historical Consciousness and the Black Feminist Imagination " Twenty Dollars and Change offers a metaphor about two Americas: one striving to live up to its promise of justice and liberty, and the other mired in the bloody legacy of white supremacy. The historical arc Lusane provides demonstrates that the freedom struggle changes its cast of characters over time, but never forsakes its hope for liberation. A great and refreshing read."— Loretta Ross, author of Calling In the Calling Out Culture " Twenty Dollars and Change travels the back alleys of fear of racist white America. . . .Harriet Tubman’s image on the money is an opportunity to establish the symbol of democracy she wanted, one where actions led by a conceived idea of being inferior or superior are crushed. Clarence Lusane has put it where the goats can get it. An extraordinary and wonderful book."— Tina Wyatt, great-great-great grandniece of Harriet Tubman, co-founder of Harriet Tubman Day, Washington D.C. "In this original and brilliantly conceived book, acclaimed political scientist Clarence Lusane offers an incisive analysis of how racism and inequality shaped—and continues to shape—American society."— Keisha N. Blain, coeditor, Four Hundred Soul