Twenty Dollars and Change: A Book Discussion with Dr. Lusane and David Whettstone

About the Book:

In Twenty Dollars and Change, political scientist Clarence Lusane, author of the acclaimed The Black History of the White House,  writes from a basic premise: Racist historical narratives and pervasive  social inequities are inextricably linked--changing one can transform  the other. Taking up the debate over the future of the twenty-dollar  bill, Lusane uses the question of Harriet Tubman vs. Andrew Jackson as a  lens through which to view the current state of our nation's ongoing  reckoning with the legacies of slavery and foundational white supremacy.  He places the struggle to confront unjust social conditions in direct  connection with the push to transform our public symbols, making it  plain that any choice of whose life deserves to be remembered and  honored is a direct reflection of whose basic rights are deemed worthy  of protection, and whose are not.

Dr. Clarence Lusane is an author, activist, scholar, and  journalist. He is a Professor and former Chairman of Howard University's  Department of Political Science. Lusane earned his B.A. in  Communications from Wayne State University and both his Masters and  Ph.D. from Howard University in Political Science. He's been a political  consultant to the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and a former  Commissioner for the DC Commission on African American Affairs. He  frequently appears on MSNBC and C-SPAN, and was invited by the Obamas to  speak at the White House. Author of many books, including The Black History of the White House, Lusane lives and works in the Washington, DC area.