Former television judge Joe Brown is not a fan of putting abolitionist Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill, primarily because he believes a Black man should be the first to have the opportunity.
During a conversation earlier this month with controversial Hotep ideologist Umar Johnson, Brown ranted against feminists and the decision by the Obama administration to have Tubman replace Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill.
“The status of an ethnic group is determined by its men, not its women,” Brown said. “And putting a Black woman on there before a Black man is insulting to the Black race because you’re saying the men ain’t worth a damn [if] you put a woman up there first.”
Brown added that he doesn’t “give a goddamn about feminists,” although they’re not behind the decision to put Tubman on American currency. Instead, former Treasury Secretary Jack Lew announced the decision back in 2016. Earlier this year, however, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who’s part of the Trump administration, announced that the redesign for the new $20 bill would be delayed until 2028.
He continued, “They can go straight to hell. And I know they hate themselves ’cause they got two X chromosomes instead of an XY. They are fraudulent, self-hating and they’re sick.”
Brown also took aim at the first-ever biopic about Tubman, titled Harriet, which stars ESSENCE cover girl Cynthia Erivo.
“This movie is to soften the public up to the idea of taking a Black woman who freed slaves by leading them to freedom and getting her or another one like her on a $20 bill,” the former TV judge said. “They can’t get a White woman, so they want a Black woman. They don’t care, they just want a woman, and it downs masculinity.”
Brown doubled down last Saturday, tweeting, “I respect Black Women immensely, I’m prepared to die for them. However, our race has been kept in line by the suppression of its men.”
“A protocol of slavery was to always recognize and promote the female and disparage the male. The ‘Lady-bill’ thing is a continuation of this tactic,” he added.
Oh…kay…
However, Harriet director Kasi Lemmons supports the idea of Tubman’s likeness taking over the $20 bill. She told ESSENCE earlier this year that there are many “flawed White men” on American currency so why not have Tubman on the bill, especially since she’s a “great American” hero.
Harriet, also starring Janelle Monae and Leslie Odom Jr., is in theaters now.
