Black MONEY What A Loaded Phrase

Harriet Tubman on a Debit Card: WHAT?

The nation’s largest black-owned bank said it heard supportive comments about the design. Social media users were less convinced.

OneUnited Bank’s president called Tubman’s image on its debit card a “symbol of Black empowerment” that would help pave the way for her to appear on the $20 bill.

Harriet Tubman was to be commemorated by appearing on the $20 bill in a design that would have been unveiled this year, but the treasury secretary said in May that plans for the bill would be delayed until after President Trump left office.

Enter OneUnited Bank, which this month revealed it was honoring the abolitionist in its own way — by featuring her on a debit card.

The backlash was almost instant, and it was difficult to pinpoint what offended people more: Was it her crossed arms that resembled the “Wakanda Forever” salute from the movie “Black Panther”? Was it the combination of a gold chip above her right shoulder and the Visa logo on the left? Maybe it was the whole thing.

Regardless, OneUnited, the nation’s largest black-owned bank, soon found itself the target of jokes and jabs after announcing the card design on Thursday. Social media users accused the bank of pandering, while others pointed out the disconnect of featuring a former slave on a monetary device like a debit card.

“‘Bury me in the ocean, with my ancestors that jumped from the ships, because they knew death was better than Harriet Tubman hitting the Wakanda salute on debit cards,’” one Twitter user posted.

Another wrote, “It’s amazing how differently the idea of Harriet Tubman on U.S. legal tender feels than putting her face on a debit card.” Teri Williams, the bank’s president and chief operating officer, said in a statement that it put Tubman on the card in celebration of Black History Month. “This symbol of Black empowerment in 2020 will pave the way for the Harriet Tubman design on the $20 bill,” she said.