The steely visage of our seventh president Andrew Jackson will disappear from the face of the $20 bill. Yes, “Old Hickory” has been fired from top billing on the venerable $20 note and replaced by former slave and famed abolitionist Harriet Tubman. “The Jackson” is no more
Tubman has gained a lot of notoriety as a woman of color replacing one of the white male faces on our nation’s paper money. It’s the first time a woman has been on our nation’s currency since Martha Washington, who appeared on the $1 silver certificate from 1886 to 1957.
But few are talking about Tubman’s role as the first person with narcolepsy to be featured on U.S. currency. Yes, Harriet lived with narcolepsy. A result of an assault on her as a 12-year old child by her slave master.
she defied orders to restrain another slave for punishment. This almost cost Tubman her life: to punish the young girl, the foul-tempered slave master flung a two-pound metal weight at Tubman, striking her in the head and fracturing her skull
Tubman was plagued with painful headaches and fits of epilepsy for the rest of her life. Her narcolepsy was well-documented. She would fall into hour-long, deep naps that occurred suddenly with little or no warning.
Tubman was also renown for her proclamations that she was on a quest from God in freeing oppressed slaves from the South. She attributed much of this quest to visions she had during her sudden sleep states. It’s possible her visions were the results of her childhood injury and her subsequent development of narcolepsy.
In fact, it is well known that patients with narcolepsy are prone to dreams that are more intense than the average person’s dreams. Tia Ghose in “Lucid Dreams Could Help People with Odd Sleep Disorder” says, “People who suffer from narcolepsy have more lucid dreams, where they know they are dreaming and can at least partly control the events in the dream.” The fact that narcoleptics are constantly balancing sleep and wakefulness may lend itself to a higher chance of lucid dreaming.
Who would’ve thought that a fighter against slavery might have been inspired by a rare and debilitating disease? In fact, it is amazing that Tubman was able to lead and inspire with such a heavy burden placed upon her.
Tubman was responsible for the rescuing of over 300 slaves through the Underground Railroad.
Her debut on the $20 will happen in 2030. The move was announced on April 20th by U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew. The change is the result of a nationwide public vote. Tubman faced fierce completion from the likes of Eleanor Roosevelt and Rosa Parks. Tubman won with over 33% of the nearly 600,000 ballots cast.
Harriet Tubman’s appearance on the $20 bill is a great opportunity to raise Narcolepsy Awareness! Spread the word!
