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. Read more...