The Five African Americans whose signatures have appeared on US currency

The Register of the Treasury was an office of the United States Treasury Department. The signature of the Register of the Treasury appeared on United States paper money from 1861 until the early 1920s, alongside that of the Treasurer of the United States. To date, five African Americans have appeared as Treasury signers on federally issued paper money: Blanche K. Bruce, Judson W. Lyons, William T. Vernon, James C. Napier, and Azie Taylor Morton. Four of these five were Registers of the Treasury (Blanche K. Bruce, Judson W. Lyons, William T. Vernon, and James C. Napier), while Azie Taylor Morton was Treasurer of the United States. Another African American, Louis B. Toomer, also served as Register of the Treasury, but by the time of his term the Register’s signature no longer appeared on paper money.

Blanche Kelso Bruce (1841-1898) was the first African American elected to a full term in the U.S. Senate; Hiram R. Revels of Mississippi was the first African American to serve in the Senate, but he did not complete a full six‑year term. Mississippi’s second Black senator, Bruce, took his seat in 1875 and served until 1881. He was, in fact, the only Black American to complete a full Senate term until the mid‑20th century. Born in captivity near Farmville, Prince Edward County, Virginia, Bruce later studied at Oberlin College in Ohio and became a wealthy landowner in Mississippi and a Republican politician. On May 21, 1881, President James A. Garfield appointed him Register of the Treasury, making him the first African American to have his signature featured on U.S. paper currency. Bruce’s engraved signature appears on various notes issued during his tenure as Register.

Judson Whitlocke Lyons (1860–1924) was a graduate of the Howard University School of Law and became the first African American attorney admitted to the bar in Georgia. In 1880, he was the youngest delegate at the Republican National Convention at about age 20. President William McKinley appointed Lyons Register of the Treasury in 1898, making him the second African American to hold this post; he served until 1906. Lyons’ signature appears on many notes of that era, including well‑known issues such as the Series 1899 Silver Certificates (for example, the “Chief” note), among others.

William Tecumseh Vernon (July 11, 1871 – July 25, 1944) was an educator, minister, and later a bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. He became president of Western University (Quindaro, Kansas) in 1896 and emerged as a prominent Republican figure through that role. Vernon wrote two books on race and politics: The Upbuilding of a Race: or The Rise of a Great People (1904) and What the American Negro Expects of World‑Wide Democracy: A Statement of the Negro’s Case and Cause (1919). In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt appointed him Register of the Treasury; all U.S. currency printed during his tenure carries the signature of William T. Vernon. His signature appears on a wide range of issues, including Legal Tender Notes, Silver Certificates, Gold Certificates, and National Bank Notes.

James Carroll Napier (1845–1940), a Nashville businessman, lawyer, and civil rights leader, was the last African American Register of the Treasury whose signature appeared on U.S. currency. A prominent Republican, he held patronage appointments under Presidents Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, and Chester A. Arthur, and he served on the Tennessee Republican Executive Committee for decades. In 1911, with the support of Booker T. Washington, President William Howard Taft appointed Napier Register of the Treasury, then the highest federal post generally accessible to African Americans; he served until 1913. Napier’s signature appears on a variety of notes, including Series 1907 1000‑dollar Gold Certificates. He resigned in protest in 1913 after President Woodrow Wilson’s administration introduced new segregationist policies for federal workplaces, including the Treasury Department and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Later, Napier succeeded Booker T. Washington as president of the National Negro Business League, continuing his leadership in Black business and civic life.

Azie Taylor Morton (February 1, 1936 – December 7, 2003) served as the 36th Treasurer of the United States from September 12, 1977, to January 20, 1981, during the administration of President Jimmy Carter. She was the first and remains the only African American to hold the office of Treasurer of the United States, and she is also the only African American woman whose signature has appeared on U.S. paper currency. As Treasurer, Morton’s signature, together with that of the Secretary of the Treasury, was printed on all Federal Reserve Notes issued during her tenure, including Series 1977 and 1977A notes.

Acknowledgement: This post was revised with the support of Perplexity “Tylis”, an AI assistant that has accompanied my ongoing research and writing on the Maafa, African women’s histories and diasporic memory. The commemorative artwork was created with the assistance of ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence developed by OpenAI, which provided creative direction, historical synthesis, and visual concept development in collaboration with the author.

Source:
http://www.stacksbowers.com/NewsMedia/Blogs/TabId/780/ArtMID/2678/ArticleID/64377/Better-Know-Your-Notes-African-American-Signers-of-United-States-Federal-Currency.aspx
https://www.blackpast.org/aah-napier-james-carroll-1845-1940
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judson_Whitlocke_Lyons