2. “For the Love of Money: Blacks on US Currency” at the Museum of American Finance

Coin commemorating the Civil Rights Act of 1964, on view at Museum of American Finance. Image from Wikimedia Commons by US Mint. 

“For the Love of Money: Blacks on US Currency,” a traveling exhibition on loan from the Museum of UnCut Funk, is on view at the Museum of American Finance through January 2018. The US Department of the Treasury announced last year that Harriet Tubman would grace the $20 bill in 2020, marking the first recognition of black and women’s activists on paper money.

However, a long tradition exists of commemorating these activists on coins, medals, and medallions, as seen in this exhibit. Those on display honor athletes, entertainers, politicians, and Civil Rights leaders including Rosa Parks, Sojourner Truth, and Jackie Robinson as well as important Civil Rights accomplishments such as the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and Desegregation in Education.