STAND : Kentucky Suffrage Monument

STAND Kentucky Suffrage Monument WWP
STAND Kentucky Suffrage Monument WWP 1

Photo credit - courtesy of Barbara Grygutis and Robert Bolson

On August 19th, 2020, the city of Lexington celebrated the centennial of the 19th Amendment in a suffrage monument dedication ceremony.

The initiative to erect this monument started when Jennifer Mossotti came across an article in TIME magazine in August 2017 about the lack of representation of female statues in the public space. A quick search revealed that in her hometown, Lexington, there was not a single statue that honors a real woman. Soon after, she gathered a group of talented women to found the “Breaking the Bronze Ceiling” organization to build a monument to commemorate women’s suffrage in August 2020.

The sculptress Barbara Grygutis got the commission and created a magnificent monument of five 20-foot white aluminum silhouetted sculptures in the shape of women that stand together. A light illuminates the sculptures from within, creating an effect of a community beacon at night time.

The monument, titled STAND, honors all women who fought for the right to vote, particularly suffragists in Lexington and Kentucky. Among them are:

  • Elizabeth “Lizzie” B. Cooke Fouse (1875-1952) was the 4th president of the Kentucky Association of Colored Women.
  • Frances Jewell McVey (1889-1945) was an Equal Rights Association activist who produced a play about suffrage.
  • Frances Estill Beauchamp (1857-1923) was a Kentucky suffragist, Woman’s Christian Temperance Union leader, reformer, orator, and philanthropist.
  • Ida Withers Harrison (1851-1927) was a women’s education and women’s rights activist and a talented orator who served on the Kentucky Equal Rights Association lecture bureau.
  • Kate Meriwether Barker (1859-1947) served as the Dean of Women at Kentucky State University and was a leader at the Kentucky Equal Rights Association.
  • Mary Barr Clay (1839-1924) was the first Kentucky woman to speak publicly about women’s rights, the founder of suffrage clubs, and the first Southerner elected president of a national suffrage association.
  • Laura Clay (1849-1941) was one of the most notable suffragists in the South, co-founder and first president of the Kentucky Equal Rights Association, and a leader of the American women’s suffrage movement.
  • Linda Neville (1873-1961) was the president of the Fayette Equal Rights Association (1910-1913) and a children’s and women’s health advocate and reformer.
  • Lucy Wilmot Smith (1861-1889) was a teacher, journalist, editor, suffragist, and historian who advocated for equal opportunities for women and women of color.
  • Madeline McDowell Breckinridge (1872-1920) was a prominent leader of the Kentucky women’s suffrage movement. She founded many civic organizations and initiated progressive reforms in the states.
  • Dr. Mary E. Britton (1855-1925) was a suffragist, orator, and educator; in 1902, she became the first woman in Lexington to be licensed to practice medicine.
  • Mary Scrugham (1885-1965) was a suffragist and educator who engaged her students in the suffrage matter.

"Stand" statue honoring women suffragists unveiled in Lexington

Share:



Watch and Learn More

 

We hope you enjoyed this article.
Please support us so we can write about more landmarks of pioneer women.
 
Donate

We hope you enjoyed this article.
Please support us so we can write about more landmarks of pioneer women.
 
Donate

Address

S Mill St &, W Vine St, Lexington, KY 40507



"Stand" statue honoring women suffragists unveiled in Lexington

Share:
Tags: Landmarks of the US Suffrage Movement and Places in Kentucky USA

Hidden

Next Steps: Sync an Email Add-On

To get the most out of your form, we suggest that you sync this form with an email add-on. To learn more about your email add-on options, visit the following page (https://www.gravityforms.com/the-8-best-email-plugins-for-wordpress-in-2020/). Important: Delete this tip before you publish the form.
Check out this fun, inspiring, and challenging activity about extraordinary women.
You'll also be subscribing to our monthly newsletter. Unsubscribe anytime.

Shop & Support


Donate & Support
 
Our feminist project of wanderlust and equality-aspired community maps the HerStories of worldwide wonder women.
Explore the website for excellent guided tours, travel tips, unique landmarks, fun girlfriend getaways, events, and in-depth articles about gender, equality, space, and (not-told-enough) female legacy.

About the Project

 

Subscribe to
our Newsletter

A Path Forward Utah Womens History Memorial WWP
Memorial & Statue

“A Path Forward” Utah Women’s History Memorial

Salt Lake City, UT, USA

To commemorate the 150th anniversary since the women of Utah voted for the first time and the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment in August 2020, Better Days 2020 gifted Utah a monument that celebrates Utah women’s role in the national equal voting rights movement. Memphis University assistant professor of art and sculptor Kelsey Harrison and Weber State University associate professor of art and sculptor Jason Manley created it. The journey of voting rights for women of Utah started on February 14th, 1870, when Seraph Young and 25 other women voted for the first time under an equal suffrage law. Seventeen years later, the US Congress passed the federal anti-polygamy Edmunds–Tucker Act of 1878, revoking Utah women’s voting rights. Women of Utah fought back; they organized rallies, demonstrations, and petitions across Utah and secured voting rights in Utah’s constitution in 1896. After winning the vote in their country, they worked with the national women’s suffrage movement to win voting rights for all American women. The interactive memorial stands in front of the Salt Lake City Council Hall, the building women voted for the first time. Several bootprints on the ground lead to the memorial; one has the words “1870 Seraph Young” engraved. There are replicas of two chairs and a table from the administrative buildings where the finalization of the state constitution took place. Article 4 of Utah’s constitution is inscribed on the table: “The rights of citizens of the State of Utah to vote and hold office shall not be denied or abridged on account of sex. Both male and female citizens of the State shall enjoy equally all civil, political, and religious rights and privileges.” Four doorways mark the milestones in the journey to equal voting rights; each is wider than before, representing how equality grew with each milestone. The first door marks the ratification of the 19th Amendment that granted voting rights to some women. Around that door are quotes from Martha Hughes Cannon, Emmeline B. Wells, Susan B. Anthony, Sojourner Truth, and other Utah and national suffrage leaders. It was a huge milestone, but not all women were granted voting rights. The second doorframe represents the Indian Citizenship Act conferred US citizenship on all American Indians for the first time in 1924; Utah granted Native Americans on reservations the vote only in 1957. The third doorframe represents the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, enabling people from Asian countries to become citizens and vote. The fourth and last doorway represents the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965 which enabled all people of color to register to vote. It leads to a wide path that faces the State Capitol building. Share: Read more...
19th Amendment Ratification Flag Statue WWP 1
Memorial & Statue

19th Amendment Ratification Flag Statue

Paramount, CA, USA

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. Share: Read more...
Alice-Allison-Dunnigan-Statue-WWP
Memorial & Statue

Alice Allison Dunnigan Statue in Russellville

Russellville, KY, USA

A 6-foot-tall bronze statue of the pioneering journalist Alice Allison Dunnigan is standing near the West Kentucky African American Heritage Center, in Dunnigan’s hometown, Russellville, Kentucky. The statue depicts Dunnigan as she appears in a picture from 1947, standing with the Washington Post newspaper in her hands outside the US Capitol. Alice Allison Dunnigan was a reporter for the Associated Negro Press, and in 1947 she became the first black female reporter to get press credentials to cover The White House. She later also reported from the Congress, the State Department, and the Supreme Court. She fought poverty, sexism, and racism to fulfill her dream as a journalist who travels the world. Her stories were published in 112 African-American newspapers in the US. The statue was created by the Kentucky sculptress Amanda Matthews and her husband. It traveled around the county before arriving at its permanent destination in Russellville. It was on view at the Newseum in Washington DC from September till December 2018. In 2019, it was on view at the University of Kentucky. From there, it traveled to the Truman Presidential Library in Independence, Missouri, where it was on view till the summer of 2019. On August 2nd, 2019, it was dedicated in a special ceremony with a member of Dunnigan’s family, at the opening the 33rd Annual Russellville Emancipation Celebration. Share: Read more...
Esther Hobart Morris Statue in the US Capitol WWP
Memorial & Statue

Esther Hobart Morris Statue in the US Capitol

Washington, DC, USA

The bronze sculpture of the first woman justice of the peace in the US and the women’s suffrage advocate Esther Hobart Morris stands in the US Capitol’s Hall of Columns representing Wyoming in the National Statuary Hall Collection. Esther Hobart Morris (1814-1902) was born and raised in a large family in Tioga County, New York. At 21, she left home and opened a millinery business in Owego. In 1869 she and her sons joined her husband and older son at a gold rush camp at South Pass City, Wyoming Territory. On December 10th, 1869, Wyoming secured equal rights for women. Two months later, on February 14th, 1870, her application to become a justice of the peace was approved, and she became the first woman justice of the peace in the US and the first woman to hold judicial office in the modern world. In slightly more than eight months in office, she ruled on 27 cases, including nine criminal cases. A few years later, she left South Pass City, lived in New York and Illinois, and returned to Wyoming in the summers to spend time with her sons. Morris became a supporter and advocate of the American Women’s suffrage movement, attended conventions, served as vice president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, and was a leader in the passage of Wyoming’s suffrage amendment, which got her the nickname “Mother of Suffrage” in Wyoming. Avard Fairbanks sculpted this statue and its replica, which has been standing proudly outside the Wyoming State Capitol since 1963. Share: Read more...
View all

 

*Disclaimer: Please be aware that the information on this page is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. Learn more here.