Little-known African Americans whose signatures have been on U.S. currency

Pic credit: Texas AFL-CIO

Azie Taylor Morton

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She is celebrated as the only African American woman to hold the post of Treasurer of the United States. Appointed by President Jimmy Carter on September 12, 1977, Morton served as the United States’ 36th Treasurer until January 20, 1981. Her signature was printed on US currency during her tenure, making her the only female African American signor of US currency.

Pic credit: African American Coins and Stamps

Before becoming treasurer, Morton served on President John F. Kennedy’s Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity and became a special assistant to Robert Schwarz Strauss, the chair of the Democratic National Committee from 1972 to 1976. She further worked as an election observer for presidential elections in Senegal, Haiti and the Dominican Republic and became a representative of the African/African American Conference held in Africa.