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On January 19th, 2009, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the city of Eugene renamed Eugene Station Plaza to Rosa Parks Plaza, and a life-size bronze sculpture of Rosa Parks was unveiled before hundreds of people. It was one of the first statues of African-American women in Oregon and believed to be the first time a bus station was named in Parks’ honors. The Oregon sculptor Pete Helzer sculpted it, depicting Parks as her young self, looking forward, sitting next to a vacant seat. In addition to Lane Transit District’s $10,000 contribution to the statue’s cost, local businesses, civic organizations, and government agencies donated the remaining $34,000. Rosa Parks (1913-2005) was a seamstress and activist at the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in Montgomery, Alabama. When she took the bus home on December 1st, 1955, she sat on the first row of the color section; when the white section got full, the driver asked her to move further to the back. She refused, and a Police officer arrested her. The Women’s Political Council, led by Jo Ann Robinson, decided to use Parks’ arrest and launched the Montgomery bus boycott. The African American community in Montgomery boycotted public bus transportation for 381 days till the US Supreme Court ruling in Browder v. Gayle stated that transportation segregation is unconstitutional. Parks became an icon of the civil rights movement and dedicated her life to advocating for justice and equality. Read more...

The impressive equestrian statue of Queen Amina of Zazzau stands at the entrance to Nigeria’s National Arts Theatre, paying tribute to the legendary queen who ruled the kingdom of Zazzau (in what is now northern Nigeria) for 34 years. The prominent Nigerian sculptor Ben Ekanem sculpted it in 1975 for the Second World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture (FESTAC ‘77). Ekanem portrayed Queen Amina in mid-battle, brandishing a sword while her horse rears up on its hind legs. Queen Amina was born into royalty as the granddaughter of King Sarkin and the daughter of King Nikatau, the 22nd ruler of Zazzau. From a young age, Amina excelled in military skills and strategy, joining her brother’s cavalry and becoming his lead warrior by the time she was a teenager. When her brother passed away in 1576, Amina became Zazzau’s ruler. Just months into her reign, Queen Amina embarked on an impressive 34-year military campaign to expand Zazzau territory into neighboring lands. Commanding a fierce army of 20,000-foot soldiers and 1,000 cavalry, she conquered vast regions to create the largest-ever borders of Zazzau. Her expansion efforts allowed Zazzau to dominate trade routes connecting western Africa with Egypt and Mali during her rule. To protect the new outposts of her kingdom, Queen Amina ordered the construction of a notable series of earthen barrier walls, which came to be known as “Amina’s walls.” In creating secure trade passages and building a military might that bested her rivals, Queen Amina brought immense wealth and power to Zazzau. Queen Amina died around 1610 in unknown circumstances and location, leaving an enduring legacy as one of Africa’s great warrior queens. The original bronze statue deteriorated after years erected outdoors welcoming guests to the National Arts Theatre; in 2014, an unsigned artist re-created a replacement sculpture to restore Queen Amina’s imposing watch over the complex. While less dramatic than Ekanem’s epic 1977 portrayal, the new iteration ensures the legacy of one of history’s most formidable female leaders continues to be honored through public art. Read more...

Cora Coralina’s bust by Aucione Torres Agostinho was dedicated in 1989 in a small park that bears her name in the city where she raised her six children. The plaque on the pedestal reads a quote from her poem Meu Epitafio: “Não morre aquele que deixou na terra a melodia de seu cântico na música de seus versos.” Born Ana Lins dos Guimarães Peixoto in the small town of Goiás in 1889, she chose her pen name Cora Coralina, meaning “red heart,” at age 14 when she began writing poetry. Though she recognized her poetic calling from a young age, Cora deferred her creative ambitions at 21 to marry, move to São Paulo, and raise her six children while working as a baker and confectioner. It was not until she was a widow in her late 60s that Cora returned to her family home in Goiás to begin a new life solely devoted to poetry, supporting herself by selling baked goods. Her simple yet profoundly lyrical debut poetry collection ‘Poemas dos Becos de Goiás e Estórias Mais’ was published in 1965 when she was 75 years old. Drawing inspiration from ordinary people, the cultural mix, and the harsh beauty of Brazil, Cora’s verse elevated the everyday through vivid snapshots of life’s struggles, joys, and hard-won wisdom filtered through a feminist lens. Her unique authenticity and skill at rendering the human experience into resonant yet accessible free poetry transcended technical flaws, earning her popularity and admiration for Brazil’s greatest poets, including Carlos Drummond de Andrade. Until she died in 1985 at age 95, Cora remained devoted to her poetry, chronicling life’s simplicities and profundities through an empathetic, feminist, and quintessentially Brazilian lens. Read more...

In the Latin America Park in Quebec City stands the bust of Juana Azurduy de Padilla, a Bolivian heroine of the 19th century who fought the Spanish for the independence of Bolivia and Argentina. The youth of Bolivia commissioned the Bolivian sculptor Xavier Portugal to create the bust and gifted it to the youth of Quebec. On February 23rd, 2010, the Minister of Transport and Minister responsible for the Capitale-Nationale region, Sam Hamad, unveiled it at the Observatoire de la Capitale, and on September 22nd, 2010, it was officially dedicated at the park by the Ambassador of Bolivia to Canada, Edgar Torrez Mosqueira, and the Deputy Minister of the Ministère des Relations Internationales, François Turenne. Azurduy de Padilla’s bust is the only one honoring a woman among the statues and busts in the park. The French inscription on the pedestal reads in English translation: JUANA AZURDUY DE PADILLA (1780-1862) The heroine of Bolivian independence, Juana Azurduy de Padilla, commanded the forces of the Republiqueta de La Laguna and supported its Argentine allies. The embodiment of sacrifice, She dedicated herself to the fight for freedom, losing four children in the fury of battle. Her example guides the sons and daughters of Latin America in their quest for a just and inclusive world. This bust is offered to Quebec youth by the Consorcio Boliviano de Juventudes. SEPTEMBER 2010 Juana Azurduy de Padilla was born to a Spanish father and indigenous mother in 1780 in Chuquisaca (modern-day Sucre, Bolivia). Orphaned at a young age, she spent her early years under the care of nuns in the Santa Teresa convent until she got expelled for her rebellious spirit. In 1802, she married Manuel Padilla, with whom she had four children that she would tragically lose in the years to come. The Padillas joined the rebel forces and fought for independence from the Spanish in 1809. After the Spanish regained control in 1811, they took hold of the Padillas’ land and captured Azurduy de Padilla and her children; Manuel eventually rescued them, and they returned to the fight. Azurduy de Padilla organized the indigenous people’s army and led pivotal victories, including the 1813 Battle of Ayohuma. When her husband was killed in 1816, the widowed and pregnant Juana took her children into the wilderness, gathered forces, and returned to retrieve her husband’s body. In 1818, she rejoined the army under Martín Gümes as the commander of the Northern Army of the Revolutionary Government of the United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata. Azurduy de Padilla and her forces attained an independent zone between Argentina and Upper Peru until the Spanish withdrew. Impoverished after Bolivia’s independence in 1825, when her family property claims were ignored, Azurduy de Padilla died in poverty in Jujuy in 1862. A century later, her heroism received its rightful acclaim, becoming a Bolivian heroine officially. Read more...

On August 7th, 1995, Juana Azurduy de Padilla’s bust was dedicated in this roundabout that bears her name. In addition to this bust and another statue, Azurduy de Padilla is commemorated in buildings and schools in La Paz. Juana Azurduy de Padilla (1780-1862) was a renowned military leader who fought against the Spanish for Bolivia’s independence. Born in Chuquisaca (modern-day Sucre, Bolivia) to a white Basque father and indigenous mother, Azurduy de Padilla defied conventions from a young age, mastering riding and shooting and joining her father at work. She also refused to become a nun and married her childhood friend Manuel Ascencio Padilla. They joined the revolutionary forces fighting for independence from Spanish rule, hoping for a better and more equal life. Azurduy de Padilla was a fearless and formidable guerrilla fighter, participating in and leading many battles, earning the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Tragically, Azurduy de Padilla lost her husband and four children during the brutal conflict. Despite the immense personal losses, she continued fighting with unwavering determination. When Bolivia became independent in 1825, Azurduy de Padilla received a military pension for several years. Sadly, she lived her final decades in poverty, unable to return to live in her family land. Years after Azurduy de Padilla died, her heroism, sacrifice, and bravery stories reappeared in Bolivia and Argentina, making her a national heroine. Since then, her legacy has been honored in monuments, and many buildings and institutions bear her name. Read more...

Four years after her death and on what would have been her 100th birthday, on August 20th, 1989, the Cora Coralina House Museum was opened to the public, celebrating the life and legacy of the prominent Brazilian poetess Ana Lins dos Guimarães Peixoto Bretas, known by her pseudonym Cora Coralina. Born on August 20th, 1889, Ana grew up in this house by the river, owned by her family since 1825. She attended school only till the third grade and started writing stories and poetry in her teenage years; only in her mid-seventies did she publish her first book of poetry ‘Poemas dos Becos de Goiás e Estórias Mais’ under the pseudonym Cora Coralina, a nickname she came up with as a teenager. This long-awaited debut followed decades of raising six children in São Paulo while working as a baker and confectioner. After her husband’s death, 50-year-old Cora underwent an empowering “loss of fear,” found renewed inspiration, and wrote poetry. Her lyrics wove together the country’s diverse cultural influences, giving poetic voice to ordinary women, Afro-Brazilian rituals, and the vibrant mythologies of her childhood home, which served as her muse. Her powerful, authentic narratives brought her great popularity and acclaim, including the Ana Néri Medal from the Brazilian Society of Education and Integration in São Paulo in 1977, the Order of Merit Anhanguera was awarded to her by the Government of the State of Goiás, and being named the Brazilian Writers Union’s “Literary Personality of the Year” in 1984. Several months after Cora passed away in 1985, relatives and friends founded the Cora Coralina’s House Association (Associação Casa de Cora Coralina) and the Cora Coralina’s House Museum (Museu Casa de Cora Coralina) aiming to preserve, educate and celebrate the the life and work of Cora Coralina. The family donated many items for the collection, including personal objects, household utensils, books, furniture, manuscripts, typescripts, newspapers, photos, and letters. The museum offers guided tours and a research library and organizes special events. Outside the museum stands a bust of Cora. A copy of this bust stands in São Paulo. The historic center of the city of Goiás is one of the 23 World Heritage Sites in Brazil, and Cora Coralina’s House Museum is the most visited destination in Goiás. Read more...