Earlier this month, Raven-Symone officially signed on as a co-host on The View. Just like American Idol, here’s another show that needs to be put out of its misery. The revolving door of View hosts and declining ratings are sure signs of a coming end. Hiring Raven-Symone seems like a move of desperation. Showrunners are perfectly aware of the controversial statements she’s given. They’re hoping she’ll land in some major arguments and pull in viewers.
One of Thursday’s conversation topics was the WomenOn20s campaign, which held an unofficial contest to see which woman should cover the $20 bill. The movement’s goal is to see a woman replace U.S. President Andrew Jackson by 2020 (which is the 100th anniversary of women’s right to vote). Out of 15 distinguished candidates, abolitionist Harriet Tubman won by a large margin. Even Hillary Clinton threw her support behind Tubman:
Harriet Tubman could be the first woman on the $20 bill. Awesome, well deserved—and about time. http://t.co/VIw2KyWEzX #womenon20s
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) May 14, 2015
Raven said she would never vote for Harriet Tubman’s face on the $20 because “we need to move a little bit forward.”
Raven-Symone wants to see a woman on the $20 bill, but she doesn’t want it to be Harriet Tubman.
The famed abolitionist was the people’s first choice female (based on the results of Women on 20s’ unofficial online poll), but Raven would prefer “someone that is closer to the progression that we’re doing now,” she said Wednesday of The View.
“No offense to everyone that’s going to be mad at me for saying this, I don’t like that idea [of Harriet Tubman on the $20],” she said. “I think we need to move a little bit forward. Let me just preface that I understand the history, I get it, trust me, I was taught, I’m in that culture…”
She ran through some of the other options Women on 20s provided as ideal candidates, including Eleanor Roosevelt, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Patsy Mink and Rosa Parks.
“Me personally, I would have chosen Rosa Parks,” said Raven. “I would have chosen someone that is closer to the progression that we’re doing now. And I know you have to understand history so that you don’t repeat it, but that doesn’t really happen in our world, because we still repeat history of hating other cultures over and over again. So I would choose a different one, no offense.”
[From E! Online
The general reaction to Raven’s statement is mixed. Some people are angry, and others are simply scratching their heads. No one really knows what Raven’s attempting to say.
I'm not sure what Raven Symone is trying to say. Harriet Tubman guided 300 slaves to freedom. How is that not a history that evokes pride?
— Charles Clymer (@cmclymer) May 14, 2015
Raven Symone says Harriett Tubman isn't progressive enough for the $20 bill. FML.
— Goldie Taylor (@goldietaylor) May 14, 2015
To be fair, I’m not sure that even Raven knows what she’s talking about. This is the same person who believes several continents exist within Africa. Oh well. At least Raven has brought more attention to the WomenOn20s campaign.
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet & WENN
Raven, Raven, quite contrary, how does your comeback go?
Nice. 🙂
She seems so conflicted. There seems to be a discomfort with who she is—whether it be sexually, physically, racially or politically. I can understand to some extent when people don’t want to be categorized or boxed in. That being said, she seems to go too far out of her way to intentionally evade the truth in her own life by having opinions that are adverse to who she is.
Raven wanders lost.
Oh raven please take many seats
lol, exactly.
This! Thank you! Ever since she came out of the woodwork she’s pissed me off. Yikes
Actually I agree with her. While Harriet Tubman helped 300 blacks to freedom, Rosa Parks inspired a movement that has led to civil rights for 10’s of millions in each subsequent generation. It makes sense to me.
I don’t mind her style in the other 2 pics even though I don’t cover it… But that red striped dress is one of the ugliest looks I’ve seen on a celeb lately . She must be very petite to not look frumpy in it but good lord it is offensively hideous.
First of all, I totally agree that The View has been over for years. Why they don’t just kill it is beyond me.
I would be interested in hearing an articulate argument for putting a more current figure on the twenty, but I can’t say she gave one. Harriet Tubman was heroic and her courage in risking her own life to help others is something all women should be proud of. She would be an excellent choice, in my opinion.
It sounds like she’s trying to say she’d rather see someone who fought for civil rights, rather than someone who fought to abolish slavery, because civil rights are the more current issue? Not saying I agree with her, because slavery is still an issue that still affects us as a society today, just my interpretation of that gobbledegook she spit up there.
Ok, that makes at least some sense. Thank you, translator.
I’m here to help. My apologies for the typos all over my comments today, it’s early and my cat peed in my shower so my brain is tired. 😉
Great way to start the morning. Lol hope your day improves!
I think that is exactly what she is trying to say….poorly. You should travel with her as a Raven Translator!
Ahh that makes sense. I do really like the story of Rosa Parks. Reminds me of Gandhi – quiet strength.
Yep, I agree that’s what she’s saying. She’s also trying to say there are more recent important, black female characters because a lot of people get annoyed when black people invoke slavery because it was “a long time ago.”
Not saying people here do that, but a LOT of people think 150 years is ancient history and not at all relevant today.
@Shambles, who wrote: “It sounds like she’s trying to say she’d rather see someone who fought for civil rights, rather than someone who fought to abolish slavery, because civil rights are the more current issue? Not saying I agree with her, because slavery is still an issue that still affects us as a society today, just my interpretation of that gobbledegook she spit up there.”
That’s exactly what she said and I don’t understand why people are having a problem understanding her statement. I agree with her. I voted for Rosa Parks for the very reason Raven gave … Harriet Tubman was a conductor on the Underground Railroad (for those not in the know, the Underground Railroad was how some slaves in the South managed to escape to Freedom in the North and some even to Canada). There were several people doing so, otherwise it wouldn’t have worked.
What Harriet did was courageous and she most definitely deserves our admiration and her rightful place in history, but her actions didn’t led to the end of slavery. An argument ‘could’ be made that the book “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” written by (the white author) Harriet Beecher Stowe, did more to spark a debate amongst whites that (along with commerce) led to the National division that led to the Civil War.
What Rosa Parks did was also courageous, but her act wasn’t done in secret in the dead of night. The difference is by refusing to get up from that bus seat so a white passenger could sit down, Rosa Parks sparked a movement that changed the ‘legal’ treatment of blacks in this country with Civil Rights laws that have given such natural rights and liberties of which many of you posting here today are unaware. Such as blacks being able to eat, use the bathroom, and sleep in the establish where they work or perform. Being able to use any public water fountain instead of the one (if any at all) designated for ‘Coloreds;’ to sit anywhere on a bus, train, airplane, and in a movie theater and not just the balcony; to love and marry a person of any color without fear of laws long held in ‘many’ States against ‘Race Mixing;’ and to finally walk in a front entrance long deemed ‘for Whites Only.’ And this only changed in 1965 … I was 10-years-old.
That’s why I agree with Raven, and why I voted for Rosa Parks.
Sorry @Emma,
Rosa’s stance was brilliant by all rights but the fact that it happened in the light of day is by no mere coincidence. Everything about Rosa’s stance that day had been orchestrated, scripted and practiced. It wasn’t a random act that sparked a movement, it was a very methodically planned act of civil disobedience in which Rosa was specifically chosen as a key player. The movement had already begun. Neither one is more deserving than the other. To say Harriet’s act “didn’t lead to the end of slavery” as if it’s a negative in choosing her is a bit naive and simple.
@Emma
I don’t think Harriet Tubman was any less courageous than Rosa Parks, nor do I see the need to lift one up by putting down the other. Harriet Tubman operated in the dead of night because she would have been hanged or worse for her activities had they been found out. To use that against her is unfair. By the time Rosa Parks stayed seated on that bus, things had changed already a great deal, and while she could have faced jail time, or been spit on or suffered other indignities, she was not considered property or chattel and it was unlikely that her life would end that day. Not impossible, and I’m not taking away from her courage, but not a certainly as with Harriet Tubman. And btw, I REMEMBER colored bathrooms and water fountains and balconies at the movies. As a child, with a child’s innocence and literal translation of the Bible, I knew that was wrong. And that knowledge has informed my opinions ever since. So, let’s don’t forget our history. They were both great women, and we should be proud of both.
@Emma
The other two ladies have spoken well on this topic but I can’t help but reiterate how shocked I am that Harriet working in the dead of night is being held against her.
This was a time period where functional independent men and women were dragged forth and sold for less than the cost of an animal because of the color of their skin. For Harriet to lead others to safety meant going against a system that would have killed her without hesitation.
This was not a system where blacks were separated or tolerated, this was a system where blacks were KILLED, RAPED, and MAIMED. That is a monumental battle, one that Raven seems not to understand at all. Shame. She seemed like such an intelligent girl once.
I think it would be awesome to put Harriet Tubman AND Rosa Parks on money. Why choose just one bill to redesign?
This is the correct answer. Why don’t they make 15 and 30 denominations? Then we could honor more people and even more convenience in paying. I’m sure there are cons to having more denominations but I don’t know what they are.
Secondly, would it be so terrible if we replaced all the people on our currency to honor the many women/men who have contributed to the advancement of the USA in the last 200+ years? Or can there be groups of people to represent various timeframes? For example, cluster the current honorees on one bill, cluster a group of female movers-and-shakers on another bill, another cluster to represent art, etc.
Again, I’m sure I’m just an ol’ ignert but why can’t our currency change and grow as our nation grows and changes? Maybe every 100 years our money should get a facelift.
Con to having more denominations: every till (cash drawer?) in the US would have to be redesigned. But I like your cluster idea. Also, notes have 2 sides. You can put a male on one side and a female on the other – that’s basically what we have here in Oz. Ours also have simple themes, a bit like the ones you mentioned:
$5 = Queen and parliament house (politics)
$10 = Male poet and female poet (poetry)
$20 = Female shipping magnate, man who developed first air ambulance service (business/transport)
$50 = Male Aboriginal activist, Female suffragette (social activism)
The theme concept breaks down for our $100 bill, which features an opera singer and a military general. I really don’t know what they were trying to say there. War and opera are both noisy and painful?
Anyway, I’m sure the US could do something similar. It’s more cost effective to use plastic (polymer) money (it costs more to print but lasts 4 times as long). Swapping to plastic would be a good reason to modernise ALL the designs.
@BlueNailsBetty you’re making too much sense =) In Canada, our quarters for instance have different designs, and I believe the loonies and dimes to do as well, so I see no reason why a bill can’t have more than one design. I also see no reason why the Mint can’t just put women on the all bills after having all men for however many years.
Do we really need to change up our money? I’m more scratching my head at why we are trying to find someone new to put on the $20 bill now……..
100 Year anniversary of women’s right to vote.
There’s actually been a lot of changes to the US currency over the past few years. If they can do quarters for every state and national park, I think they can do an issue of 20s with Tubman.
100 years of white women being able to vote. Black women were able constitutionally, but most in the south were refused the opportunity to vote until the Civil Rights Movement.
I actually agree with her. Harriet Tubman is an excellent choice, but I would also like to see someone more recent.
Curious about your “more recent” comment – is there a particular reason why? I mean, does someone’s (Tubman’s) accomplishments diminish with time, no matter how relevant they were to the overall shaping of the country’s history and the context in which she achieved them (former slave, risking her own life, freeing hundreds of people)?
Very true, Chaucer.
In the last few election cycles, there was some focus on a fes 100+ year old women of color, and, as someone who had grown up at a time when everyone had the right to vote , it struck me that they were at one time denied for their gender, and then still later for their race. What seems like a more distant past can be brought right into the present again when you learn about someone who has experienced it first hand.
Raven like most people are having a hard time seeing a dark skinned black woman on their $20 bill. Idiots upon idiots. Raven go back to the crack hole you came out of and never come back.
Because our money is dominated by dead white guys.
Pretty much.
This is the reason I like my euros – details of architecture! 🙂
Look at how simple that was, exactly.
Changes to the $20 bill were made back in the early to mid 2000s because it is/was one of the easiest bills counterfeit. There were additions like lines and colors that are supposed to do something. Sorry I can’t tell you what that something is. But if u google it, you can read all about it or simply compare an old and a new $20.
Susan B. Anthony is out there on a $1 coin. Sacagawea is on the “gold” $1 coin.
For what it’s worth, I hear what Raven is saying but for historical reasons and the ongoing work we need to do as a country, I think Harriet Tubman is the better and wiser choice in terms of symbolism. Rosa Parks is too “easy”. The others are too easy as well.
Oooh, and to Raven . . . girl, go sit down . . . in the back room of your house and don’t come out anymore.
Yup, exactly.
I’m not sure what she’s trying to say, really. Our currency reflects not “modern” historical figures but historical figures from pivotal times in our country’s history. Well, whatever. Harriet Tubman was a badass and totally deserves the $20. Far more than the current dead white man adorning it.
speaking of badasses, botw ran an article on her:
http://www.badassoftheweek.com/index.cgi?id=96763947519
a bit of coarse language by the writer (the running theme of the blog) and somehow the author slipped in mention of the Duggars, but her achievements speak for herself.
Google Andrew Jackson and Trail of Tears. It’s shocking he hasn’t been replaced long before now, but now that that ball’s rolling, why not finally give a woman that honor?
My thoughts exactly. Regardless of which woman, if any, is chosen to replace him, it’s a travesty that Jackson is still on the bill to begin with. Same with the idea that Columbus Day is still celebrated as an actual holiday, despite the trust history of his actions against native peoples.
Yeah. Definitely. I was thinking I wish they would put an indigenous American on the 20
Also, Andrew Jackson was a flaming asshole. So there’s that….
ETA — sorry, didn’t see what Jessica had said. Yeah, that.
I thought you put it just fine. Lol
Andrew Jackson, currently on the $20, was a horrible person who defied the U.S. Supreme Court and single handedly forced the removal of Native Americans from their ancestral lands in the Southeastern United States and into what became Oklahoma. Thousands and thousands died, along with having their property and rights taken away with the flick of a pen. He has NO BUSINESS being on any form of U.S. currency.
Then again he is responsible for “big block of cheese day” (yes, that’s a joke!)
Lucy, Lilac, the Other Katherine: Come Collect your prizes for a job well done
…. Someone needs to put a sock on Raven’s mouth before she says any more stupid shit
This should somewhat help explain why Jackson was a terrible person and president outside of reading some of his biographies. http://theweek.com/articles/539274/andrew-jackson-americas-worst-great-president. The worst part is the fact that he portrayed himself as a celebrated “up-from-nothing common man” when his wealth was built on the backs of slaves and Native Americans. He is also largely responsible for the spoils system.
Kind of like drake “started from the bottom now we’re here” like no, you grew up in one of the richest neighbourhoods in Toronto you twit.
Hah. When I took an American history course in college, our professor actually opened the section on Jackson by saying, “If you want to know who’s responsible for starting the trend of smear campaigns, this is the guy.”
Also, thank you for the article link. I knew about most of her early life, but I didn’t know about her involvement in the Civil War – or that she lived until 1913. Holy sh*t.
BE MORE LIKE CANADA.
We just whip out toonies, and get rid of pennies like it’s nothing.
But seriously, we update out banknotes semi-regularly. Hell, there’s some kids playing hockey on our fives, we’ve got bears, prime ministers, loons, all kinds of stuff.
The only real annoying change has been the new material they’re making them in. It’s weird plastic crap – bills stick together, and good luck if they get crumpled trying to use them in a vending machine. They’ve been petitioning for a while now to get women on there, though.
I’ve signed that petition, we’ll see. I don’t know, though, our government believes that female sanitary products are ‘unnecessary’ or a ‘luxury product’ per the wording of what makes products taxable, so if we’re going to see some non-white (that’s an issue, in my mind) female (besides Queenie) on our money, do hold your breath. This country is is exceptionally good at forgetting its past. I don’t know about your education, but I didn’t in all all of my schooling up through grade thirteen study a non-white person in class. Not one. In high school I worked up the courage to complain about it and managed to get a spot during the morning announcements highlighting the actions of five different non-white WWI soldiers for Remembrance Day week. The WWI coincided with the day. I remember being really ticked because not only were they ignored, but Canada’s beyond sh*** treatment of them never happened. But then again, there were no residential schools, nothing bad was ever done to black people, always welcomed Jewish people, no internment camps, and no minorities who positively contributed to this nation because minorities just didn’t exist, so no need to address any of it. Pitiful.
http://25.media.tumblr.com/0ae36a3663bd24edb677c52b5f2ca5e7/tumblr_mgn87g2K8B1qh59n0o7_250.gif
Oh Raven honey….no. Just shhhhhh.
The View has more than jumped the shark. It jumped the shark, three rings of fire, then circled back to do it all over again……and we’re bored. Fonzie did it better.
I think she just has an opinion and isn’t articulating it well. I’d love to see Eleanor Roosevelt on the 20 but I wouldn’t mind Harriet Tubman, you know? Choosing one figure in history doesn’t mean you’re dissing another.
Doesn’t she just mean that Rosa Parks is more recent? I mean, she’s ignorant in thinking that any history of more than a generation ago is irrelevant, but that’s just general ignorance rather than anything more inflammatory.
I had no idea this debate was even happening. Was Phyllis Wheatley on the list? Hers was the first name to pop into my mind.
I hope it all gets discussed and done and dusted without the horrors that happened here in the UK with the poor woman who started the campaign to get Jane Austen on our banknotes. It was like Gamergate.
I think that’s what she’s trying to say. I’m not sure why she thinks recent is better, but I think that’s her intent.
There has been an online voting for a woman on the 20s for a few months now, there was a good size list that kept getting narrowed down as people voted. Can’t remember if Wheatley was on it.
Yep. That’s the way I read it. She didn’t explain herself very well but it seems like she was saying more people may be able to identify with someone historically more ‘current.’
I’m curious why this campaign chose to replace Andrew Jackson, of all people on the bills.
He’s responsible for the Trail of Tears and was the biggest slaveowner in the Southwestern US. Behaved more like a King than a President, veto-ing left and right, completely ignoring the Supreme Court when it suited etc. (in the process creating a new standard for the Presidency that has unfortunately remained to some degree ever since).
Oh yeah. I only remember him for challenging everyone to duels and beating that would-be assassin with his cane.
They may have targeted the $20 symbolically because women got the right to vote in 1920. But I really hope it is equally about getting rid of Andrew Jackson. My great-great-great grandmother walked the Trail of Tears when she was 12.
@ Jessica then it actually would be really nice to have Harriet Tubman replace him, it would be poetic lol
Good lord, I didn’t even realise Andrew Jackson was on the US $20 bill (I’m not American). I bet Native Americans must love that! Ugh.
I suspect someone who was articulate could put forth great arguments for why the women she named should be honored ahead of Tubman but putting words together into coherent thoughts has never been Raven’s forte.
I have a Phyllis Wheatley doll.
The list is full with cool women. You can make a good argument for most of them. Which is why it’s such a shame that Andrew Jackson, with his record, has not been replaced sooner with one of these women. But…Harriet Tubman is a killer combo of abolitionist and suffragist, has pulled herself up by the bootstraps, risked her life to do what was morally right and lived a long life that embodied a lot of American history. She would be my top choice.
Unfortunately, the men’s rights neckbeards are probably already screaming about the very THOUGHT that a woman (and a black woman, clutch my pearls!!) would replace a man on money. If it is passes, I shudder the think of the ugliness that will pour forth.
I first read this story on Yahoo last night and the comments were…. well, racist and sexist LOL. Lots of “why should we put a woman on the bill” “Andrew Jackson has contributed more to America than Harriet Tubman” etc.
Yahoo might as well be the internet stomping grounds of grumpy, pissy old men (and women) who yell “get off my lawn!”, fist in the air all day long. So no surprise those rejects have a problem with a horrible person like Jackson being replaced by an honorable woman like Tubman.
‘Andrew Jackson has contributed more [misery and death} to America than Harriet Tubman”
Now, it’s good.
I can actually see that if you’re going to break the tradition of old white men who are long dead and put a black woman in their place, you might want to be current about it. You know: a smash the system completely thing. But I love history so I’d be happy with a founder member of the equalities warriors posse.
I like the idea of Mini-Lilac, sans Barbie, but with her Phyllis Wheatley doll!
Grabby – seriously, the backlash against the woman who proposed a woman on our banknotes was outrageous. Truly Gamergate proportions. It was awful.
I just don’t understand Raven-Simone at all. Her past statements about not wanting to be black and not wanting to be gay are just absurd. She must really hate herself.
Also you’re right that The View should be cancelled. I didn’t even know they had hired Raven until this post.
Just because she doesn’t agree with what is popular or the “accepted” idea she is stupid or should just shut her mouth? I really see no point in criticizing her because she has a differing opinion.
I don’t understand the point of changing money. Are we saying Andrew Jackson is bad now? I am sure all Presidents have a lot of skeletons in their closet. Please do not point he was a slave owner so was Washington and Jefferson.
I think people are responding to her inarticulate arguments, not her differing opinion. She apparently thinks the figure should be a more current one than Harriet Tubman. But why? She doesn’t give any backup argument or state her case in an intelligent way. She’s just babbling. That’s why she comes across badly. She’s on a talk show and she can’t put her thoughts into words. That’s sort of important.
I’m not put off because she doesn’t accept what is popular but put off by the fact that she did not articulate her reason very well. It’s okay to disagree with someone else’s opinion but at least be able to express your opinion so that people understand what that opinion is. I read the entire thing and am still not sure what she was saying,
Change doesn’t equal “bad”. It’s fun to change money up every 100 years or so. Why not? This decade we got new money in Canada, and it’s all futuristic and neat looking, at least I think so.
I think most historians agree on Andrew Jackson being an awful president.
He created modern democratic America while systematically wiping out the Indians.
Ehrm, no. He did not create modern democratic America. I’m really curious how one would argue that.
So essentially we should keep up our nations sterling tradition of history and its mementoes focusing entirely on old white landowning men? Awesome.
Raven should try to put forth an intelligent and well-thought out defense of what she’s hoping for when she knows how sensitive people are about this topic. (This is kinda HUGE) so far I’ve heard VERY FEW arguments against this that didn’t boil down to people not wanting a woman, let alone a black woman, in their wallet.
KCarp – Andrew Jackson was bad then and now. It is about much more than slave ownership. Google Trail of Tears or Indian Removal Order.
Thomas Jefferson got his slave pregnant. No one has discussed taking him off of any money.
@kcarp
Thomas Jefferson is on a $2 bill. Is that even something we use often? No.
@KRAP you’re an idiot just like her. Loser, how do you not know her difference of opinion is not the problem?
There’s been a fair bit of push in the last couple of decades to reexamine some of the behavior of our “forefathers” in a modern light, which is important in an age where places like Texas are still trying to whitewash our history. I think it’s more of a positive trend than a negative one. Acknowledging that we’ve done some pretty terrible things in our past is the first step to repairing the damage of that legacy.
She needs to stop saying things.
Silence is golden..
Because it’s currency, it should be current. I was just saying this to George Washington and Andrew Jackson, the other day. Oh, wait a min.
The View remains an auto-generator of ridiculous non-controversy. And to me, her comment is less surprising than that the View is still on, and that they are still trying out new hosts.
An “auto-generator of ridiculous non-controversy.” Perfect.
I can kind of see the argument that Rosa Parks is much more representative of the issues African Americans are facing right now, so perhaps more directly relevant and inspiring? I think that’s what Raven was getting at?
Susan b Anthony is a fine choice. Maybe a little tired and rather last-season. But this is a centennial we’re commemorating here.
My real issue is that neither Anthony nor Tubman bring the hot. Or can even compete with Andy Jackson’s flowing locks.
Snark aside, we can’t very well put living people on bills, Raven, so that leaves us with the oldsters.
Susan B. Anthony may not be a choice because she was already on the $1 coin. They may be looking for someone else.
Susan B. Anthony has always been a horrible choice. She actively campaigned against WOC having voting rights in order to push white women’s voting rights through.
I didn’t know that. Awful.
Thank-you.
Yep. Anthony was very much of a product of her time. If you want a suffragette, Ida B. Wells would be a much better choice.
This bytch needs a barca lounge and some history books.
Wasn’t she articulate when she was a kid? What happened?
Right? Did I go through a Twilight Zone dream where she was so well spoken and clever?
Not only is she hard to look at-she’s unbearable to listen to. Time to end the show-please! Rosie Perez? Why? Definitely time to stop.
The View will hire her full time — she has put that show back in the headlines for its Hot Topics ever since she joined. Crazy, but hey…
They didn’t need Raven for that. They have Whoopi.
Ok, it’s official, she’s a complete idiot.
I am scratching my head that anybody really doesn’t get the simple point she made: update the cultural references to someone people know who is more relevant to the current struggle. We aren’t debating slavery, we’re debating who gets to sit in the front of the bus.
Pretty simple and I like her choice as well. Next time a bill comes up choose her!
That is what I got as well, I think she just wants to choose a woman who worked these issues in more modern history. Not sure I agree with her but I think that was her point.
I agree that that’s the point she so poorly tried to make. But we aren’t debating who gets to sit in the front of the bus either, though. Besides which, why does the struggle to which the reference points necessarily have to be recent? If that’s the deciding factor, then why not someone who’s working against police brutality? Or unequal pay in the workforce? Is it really the issue that’s as important as the person’s contribution to U.S. society and history, or the reverberating effects of their efforts throughout the following decades, or the risks they took and the struggles they overcame? Rosa Parks battled discrimination and segregation and was arrested for doing so. Harriet Tubman freed people from human bondage and would have been killed if discovered by authority figures.
SHE NEEDS TO SHUT THE F&*( UP!!!!!! What is WITH this chick!?!?
She was such an intelligent child.. Too bad she grew up to be a flippin idiot. Not surprised though. This is the same woman that defended the guy who said Michelle Obama looks like a monkey (or was it a gorilla?) The same woman who said she’s from “every continent in Africa.” I have to wonder: Is she getting PAID to say offensive stuff or is she really this stupid??
Maybe Stacey Dash needs a stand-in for her FOX news rambling because so far Raven seems less of someone with a differing opinion and more someone who doesn’t even know what she’s saying but wants you to know she’s against the crowd.
AlmondJoy I can’t be mad at Raven because she’s ignorant ,uneducated and extremely inarticulate. I don’t think she’s idiot. She just doesn’t know history.
@AlmondJoy, That’s my suspicion too. There is always someone who says something absurd on that show to stir ratings. Like I said above, “The View remains an auto-generator of ridiculous non-controversy.” Someone on that show will take a position out of left field and I have to wonder if this is by design, because they are so F_cking boring otherwise. Still, I have no motivation to watch.
The guy on the ten dollar bill (Hamilton) is hot. I love looking at his face when I’m spending him.
There would be no Rosa Parks if there wasn’t Harriet Tubman.
Excellent point.
Exactly.
Exactly! Even if she made an articulate argument for having Rosa Parks instead of Harriet Tubman, this fact trumps it.
There would be no rosa parks if it weren’t for Claudette Colvin but she’s not even a candidate.
That is very true. But most people don’t even know that.
I would love to see Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill. When I was a kid I read every book on her I could find at the library. To my 9 year old self she was all the things I thought women should be…brave, kind, strong, and willing to stand up for what was right. She was a badass and I’m all about it
As long at it’s not some crusty old white dude, I’ll be pretty damn happy.
Not sure why my earlier comment was deleted but if Raven wants to avoid these blow-ups she should really try to frame her thoughts more clearly. This is a pretty amazing change that could happen.
For awhile there was a Sacajawea dollar coin (the Native American woman who led Lewis and Ckark on their expedition West). Is that still around? She could be another cool choice for one of our dollars (not necessarily the 20 one).
Looks like I need to add an initial to my name. I guess henceforth I’ll go as Amy M.
The Sacajawea coin replaced the Susan B. Anthony dollar coin because we can only have one woman at a time on our money and she can only be on a coin.
I think she is entitled to her opinion. If the movement is to commemorate women’s suffrage then for me, from the names she gave, Cady would make more sense, imho.
She has a right to her opinion. All those women were great.
I find this woman unbearable. She has some seriously annoying opinions.
What I hear in her comments: she had a more direct, impatient & frustrated opinion about commemorating an aspect or even association with slavery, tried to avoid directly stepping on toes in her delivery, and in so doing tripped over her own tongue.
I think she’s trying to speak to the feeling you get when you know it’s important not to forget something incredibly horrific, but you also want to see a goal or progress or even celebration beyond it… somewhere in the difference between respect and inspiration, or history and present and future?
At any rate, I agree that these concepts are not mutually exclusive, but that the way she expressed herself almost set them up to seem so.
(I grew up in an incredibly WASPy environment, and was completely shocked off at university when my new Jewish classmates would groan or roll their eyes as the word ‘Holocaust’ was brought up – either in conversation, or in class. One eventually explained to me that when he grew up hearing about it all the time with no relief, that was an honest reaction. I’m abbreviating like crazy here, but it’s what I was reminded of first after reading her comments.)
I don’t think Tubman should be on the $20 bill because the entire system of capitalism in the US was pioneered and maintained by influential white men.
If only she would have just said “I wouldn’t think Harriet Tubman would want to be on the $20 bill.” For any and/or all the reasons above. smdh…
I spot a stunt queen fail
Sadly, I feel we should put celebrities on instead of referring to history. seem to pay soooo much to what their going to do instead of what people have done for this country – positively that is.
Would be cool to see Wilma Mankiller replace Andrew Jackson for historical reasons, but I’m fine with Tubman, and there are other dollar bills to replace.
What about Harriet on one side and Rosa on the other? like two medallion portraits
She says that she would choose someone different, but guess what? We all had a chance to have our voice heard on this, including her. I voted both in the “opening rounds” to narrow down the choices and again in the “finals” to choose the one woman I wanted to see put on the $20 bill.
Heya! Brit here who has just googled Harriet Tubman (sorry to be so lacking in US Civil War history) and – what a badass that woman was! Also I don’t agree with this comparing game – when you are talking about key historical figures who risked their lives making a stand and trying to help others – who cares who is most recent or even relevant? We need to look to and understand the past (far and recent) to move forward!
Basically they both deserve a bill. And many more. Raven is obviously entitled to her opinion but when it’s so poorly expressed its a lost opportunity. She needs to prep more! Anyway, just my slightly wine fuelled thoughts.
totally agree. she has valid points, but she doesn’t articulate them well. she’s a person that needs to be scripted, not speaking off the cuff. she’s not aware of how she comes across
Susan B. Anthony would have been a better choice. If not for her women would not have gotten the right to vote. The suffrage movement, her leadership, is what lead us to the right to vote in 1920, and the 19th amendment. She helped all women…
No, she didn’t. She shafted anyone that wasn’t a white woman. Let’s not rewrite history. She did good things but it was not for everyone.
‘She helped all women…’
No, because she actively hurt lots of women. I can’t help but have full-on disdain for a lot of these superheroes because it was never about what they did *for* me, but, *to* me, so TS for them. Better than what, John Wilkes Booth?
You say she helped all women as if that makes her superior to Tubman, but blacks were treated abominably, and whites had their freedom, so it’s not right to diminish what Tubman did.
I think what she was trying to say is that she’d prefer a black female face that doesn’t immediately evoke one of America’s darkest periods and have it rather reflect a more current view of modern race issues. I could see the argument, since we often characterize African Americans by racial qualifications rather than accomplishments or social contributions. It’s not necessarily an incorrect view, just a different one. I would be very surprised if many people who voted for Tubman did so for any other reason than because she was the most recognizable name to them.
This is what happens when you hand a small child over to a corporation to educate, raise, and exploit. They just have no need for educated stars. There’s no sophistication or depth to her thinking. She’s never been intellectually challenged or taken to task by peers. It’s just be rote memorization to pass tests and present a smile. TV literacy.
Just leave the stinking currency alone. There are more important things in this country for the government and the treasury to be concerned about!
Personally, I think it ought to be Wilma Mankiller. I like the irony of replacing a genocidal President with a groundbreaking woman from the culture he tried and failed to destroy.
Oh brother. I don’t understand this at all. Her reasoning makes no sense because she chose other historical figures. She sounds like a moron. I was with her that time she said she doesn’t want to be labeled, but it makes no sense why she would support those historical figures and not Tubman. Scratching my head.