Buying Cultural Currency
Like many folks, I was excited about the idea of Anna May Wong becoming the first Asian American to appear on U.S currency. Many news articles have been written on this, Twitter and IG lit up. I do think it is important, but at the end of the day, we have to see it for what it is: a small coin, a token, as an attempt to shed some light on the history of a people that has been nearly invisible.
For those who are genuinely excited by this, I wonder how many other figures can they name who have been a part of the U.S. Mint's American Women Quarters Program? How many have gone on to explore the lives of names unfamiliar to them? How many have one of those quarters in production in their pocket? While this is official United States currency, these are very-limited runs. And, unfortunately, they do very little to educate others about the women or the causes that they represented.
While I love the idea of having more symbols and tokens, the greater battle is to change the systems and culture that have made these women and their communities invisible. We shouldn’t have to rely on minted coins or printed paper to learn about history. I mean, how many people knew about the man on our $10 note before Hamilton the musical became a sensation? Let’s honor people in more meaningful ways: in our textbooks and curriculum (by making Asian American history a requirement in public schools), in the entertainment industry (perhaps having an award or program named after Anna May Wong), or even better: by overturning unjust and discriminatory practices that perpetuate sexism, racism, and all forms of bigotry.
Naming buildings and streets after a person is fine, but we should be doing more to honor the legacy of their work because symbolic gestures are just that: symbols and gestures, not the actual work. Case in point: neighborhoods with MLK streets are poorer and more segregated than the national average. Dr. King’s fight wasn’t for recognition by a street name, it was the fight to be recognized as equal, both culturally as well as legally.
Yes, let’s celebrate with the new coin. But let’s also do the work to bend the moral arc of the universe. That’s when we’ll have real cultural currency.
