US Treasury Sec Seeks Inspiration From Marian Anderson House For New $5 Bill
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The Secretary for the US Treasury spent Friday afternoon in South Philadelphia at the home of the late Marian Anderson, looking for some inspiration.
From her music, to her fashion and her trailblazing impact on history, all packed into her modest home near 20th and Fitzwater.
"Marian Anderson's story is the story of America," says Jacob Lew, US Treasury Secretary.
Lew announced in the spring that the Treasury would be re-designing several bills of US currency, to add more women to the fold. The face of the $20 bill will feature abolitionist Harriet Tubman, the back of the new $10 bill will feature images telling the story of women's suffrage and the back of the new $5 bill will depict historic events that took place at the Lincoln Memorial.
"The Lincoln Memorial is more than just a monument to Abraham Lincoln," says Lew, "it is one of the great spots in our country where people committed to making this country better go to make a statement."
The re-design of the five dollar bill will feature a composite image of Martin Luther King's "I have a Dream Speech," as well as Eleanor Roosevelt and Marian Anderson from Anderson's 1939 performance on the steps of the memorial, which broke racial barriers. At the time, concert halls in Washington DC were segregated; and ,any historian's believe that Anderson's concert, performed at the invitation of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, launched the civil rights movement.
"Life today is different in this country because of what happened on the steps of the Lincoln memorial that day," says Lew.
Anderson was also a US Ambassador and patriot, donating majority of the proceeds from her platinum selling "Voice of America" album to the country's WWII effort.
"That shows you so much about her love of country and her patriotism," says Jillian Pirtle, historian and president of the Marian Anderson Historical Society.
"I think Marian would be looking down and smiling, knowing that the country she loved so much will memorialize her in this way," she says."
Lew says the new $5 bill design is still in progress and will likely be released under the next administration.
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