Ray Charles on the $10 bill

It’s simply this: A petition to put the late Ray Charles on the $10 bill. Join the Derek Trucks Band and a growing list of petitioners who are asking that the U. S. Department of Treasury issue a new series of 10-dollar bills with Ray’s picture on the face. The petition states that Charles “embodies the most cherished ideals of the American character: Self-reliance, courage and sacrifice,” having overcome blindness, racial oppression and drug addiction to become a musical icon, “an exemplar of his profession and his generation in bringing our country out of the darkness of Jim Crow and racial strife.” Charles’ self-created “soul music has proved capable of reaching across class, race, religious and social lines to touch all Americans on an emotional level.” Signing this petition “would show that our country has begun to make a concerted effort to honor Americans of distinction who have lived and worked outside the political realm.”