A feminist group is campaigning to have the face of Rosa Parks, Susan B. Anthony or other influential women from U.S. history grace the $20 bill instead of President Andrew Jackson, Yahoo! News reported.
The nation's currency has remained unchanged since the late 1920s, when a special committee appointed by the Secretary of the Treasury decided placing presidents on bills is best because they have "more permanent familiarity in the minds of the public than any others."
But the nonprofit Women on 20s told Yahoo! News that should change. There are scores of history-making women that equally deserve a place on U.S. banknotes as much as the men, all white, currently there.
"Many women contribute to our society, philosophy and culture," Barbara Ortiz Howard, the nonprofit's founder, told Yahoo! News. "It's an opportunity to have a very rich history lesson for everyone."
Civil rights activist Rosa Parks, women's suffrage leader Susan B. Anthony, former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt and abolitionist Sojourner Truth are just some of the names Howard's group has considered.
The nonprofit says they are more deserving to be represented on money than Jackson, whose Indian Removal Act of 1830 led to the suffering and deaths of thousands.
Women on 20s put the matter to a vote and will bring the proposal to President Barack Obama once they reach 100,000 votes. The group hopes Obama will take executive action, but the possibility of rejection is not lost on Howard.
"I think that change is difficult to come by," Howard said. "The present occupants on our currency have been there since 1928 and 1929, when money was standardized. Periodically, the currency is updated for security reasons, but there have been no changes since that time."
Susan B. Anthony and Sacagawea, who led explorers Lewis and Clark on their famous expedition, are the only two women ever to be featured on American currency in the form of coins. Not all of the men on U.S. banknotes were presidents, notably Benjamin Franklin and Alexander Hamilton.
Yahoo! News requested a comment from the Treasury Department's Bureau of Engraving and Printing for comment but it was not returned.
