19th Amendment Ratification Flag Statue

From left to right: NSG’s Mark Leichliter and NSG Director John Kinkade, Jo DeDecker, David DeDecker, Jane DeDecker, and Suzi DeDecker.
The sculpture's photos are courtesy of JK Designs, Inc.

To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment ratification and celebrate the city of Paramount 2020 election of an all-female City Council, only the 5th time in the state of California, the city had funded and dedicated in 2022 a 12-foot-tall bronze likeliness of the suffrage ratification banner.

The renowned sculptress Jane DeDecker who is famous for creating sculptures that commemorate women’s history and legacy, created this statue with the National Sculptors’ Guild based on the photo of the National Woman’s Party leader Alice Paul hanging the banner outside the National Woman’s Party Headquarters in Washington, DC.

The US Senate passed the 19th Amendment on June 4th, 1919, and it was sent to the states for ratification. To track the ratification process, Alice Paul sewed a satin star on a large purple, white, and gold flag each time a new state approved the ratification.

On August 18th, 1920, when Tennessee, the 36th state, ratified the amendment, Alice Paul sewed the last star and hung the long banner from the 2nd-floor balcony of the party’s headquarters. Seven decades since the suffrage movement started the struggle for the vote, on August 26th, 1920, the Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby certified the ratification that officially allowed American women to vote.

In addition to the 36 stars, the front includes the 19th Amendment text:
“AMENDMENT XIX
The right of citizens
of the United States
to vote shall not be
denied or abridged
by the United States
or by any State on
account of sex.”

The following is inscribed on the back:
“In commemoration of the August 18, 1920
ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment
to the United States Constitution that
provided all women of our nation with the
right to vote.
Upon this Centennial, the city of Paramount
celebrates its 2020 election of an all-female
City Council, only the fifth such Council
in the history of the State of California.
The city’s record of inclusiveness dates back
to its incorporation in 1957 when Gladys Iliff
was elected to the first City Council and
named Paramount’s first Vice Mayor.
Councilmember Isabel Aguayo
Councilmember Laurie Guillen
Councilmember Vilma Cuellar Stallings
Vice Mayor Brenda Olmos
Mayor Peggy Lemons
“The best protection any woman can have …
Is courage.” – Elizabeth Cady Stanton,
chief philosopher of the
woman’s suffrage movement.”

This monument is one of the several statues that were installed in commemoration of the centennial of the 19th Amendment ratification. Click here to explore more statues and places related to the American suffrage movement.

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Progress Park, 15500 Downey Ave, Paramount, CA 90723

 

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