This memorial honors the extraordinary life and legacy of the social justice work of Kip Tiernan. Tiernan was a social activist who devoted her life to improving the lives of the poor, homeless and less fortunate people. In 1974, she founded Rosie’s Place, the first women homeless shelter in the US, and till her death in 2011, she founded and supported many organizations in Boston. Among these are the Greater Boston Food Bank, Emergency Shelter Commission, Aid to Incarcerated Mothers, Finex House, Food for Free, My Sister’s Place, Transition House, and the Greater Boston Union of the Homeless. The memorial stands since October 6th, 2018, near Tiernan’s former office at Old South Church. Funded by private donations and created by the duo Carla Ceruzzi and Ryan Murphy of Ceruzzi and Murphy Projects. It consists of three metal arches with inscribed quotes from “Urban Meditations,” which Tiernan co-authored with her advocacy partner Fran Froehlich. It is one of a few memorials in Boston honoring women. Read more...

On display at the Student Life and Performance Center’s Blumenthal Family Library is a bust of the civil rights leader and a former student of the New England Conservatory, Coretta Scott King. King devoted her life to advocate for equal rights to all women and men kind to peace, justice, and none violence. She was the wife of Martin Luther King Jr. for 15 years till he was assassinated in 1968. Upon his unexpected and terrible death, she continued to lead the civil rights movement, raising their four children and working on commemorating her husband’s legacy. King’s second passion was music, and she graduated from the New England Conservatory in 1954 with a music education degree. She gave up her dream to become a classical singer but used to sing on the movement’s rallies. In 1971 she received an honorary doctorate of music from NEC. The NEC chose to commemorate King’s legacy and contribution to the world with this bronze bust, called “Continuation of a Dream.” It was unveiled on April 24th, 2018, and designed by the artist MacLean Tiffany. It is one of Tiffany’s “Bronze Sculptures of the Human Spirit” series, on display in several institutions across the US. Read more...

Named after Elizabeth Bancroft Schlesinger, a renowned feminist, and her husband, Arthur M. Schlesinger Sr, a Harvard history professor, the Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study is a research library focusing on the lives of women in the past and present, for the future. The library holds a collection of books, manuscripts, periodicals, photographic, and audiovisual materials, all related to women’s activities, experiences and issues – from domestic life, health, sexuality, and etiquette to education, professional life, feminism, and activism. The collection includes materials documenting women’s concerns from around the world, such as letters of missionaries in China, the writings of Pauli Murray, and the speeches of Shirley Graham Du Bois. The #MeToo campaign led the library to create a Digital Media Collection, documenting the movements development, their struggles, battles, and political and social impact in the US. In 1943, Maud Wood Park, a former suffragist and a Radcliffe alumna donated her collection of books and memorabilia to the college. Over time, the collection grew into a research library and was named the “Women’s Archives.” In 1965, the library was renamed after the Schlesingers’, as dominant supporters of the library’s work. Read more...

Dedicated on June 20, 2018, in the Boston Museum of Science’s Plaza honoring the founders of the museums, Brad and Barbara Washburn. Barbara Washburn became mountaineer after marrying Brad and was involved in many expeditions and nature exploration missions, as well as in the Science Museum work. She is known to be the first woman who climbed Denali, known as Mt. McKinley in Alaska, on June 6th, 1947. Among the couple’s achievements are: 3 children, mapping the Grand Canyon and large areas in Alaska, as well as the establishment of the Boston Science Museum. The statue was crafted by sculptor Robert Shure who used old photographs and accounts from Barbara’s book, “The Accidental Adventurer,” a memoir about the couple’s expeditions. Read more...

Abigail Adams was the second First Lady of the United States and the mother of the 6th President. She was a close advisor of both her husband and son and had a significant influence on American politics. She was an advocate for women’s rights, an opponent of slavery, and considered as a Founder of the United States. Her home in Massachusetts, where she was born and lived for 20 years, is a symbol of Adams’ education and ideals that later would be reflected on her contribution to the nation. The 1685 restored house and the periodical furnishing will give you a new perspective on the 18th-century way of life, as well as a better understanding of the journey of the First Lady to become a national treasure. Visitors can take the ‘behind the scenes’ tour and participate in special events, such as ‘Tea with Mrs. Adams’, ‘Women’s History Month Panel’, and the Abigail Adams Historical Society Annual Meeting and Dinner. Read more...

This was the home of Rose Standish Nichols – a landscape gardener, pacifist, suffragist, a member of the Cornish Art Colony, and one of the founders of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom. The four-story house preserves the lifestyle of a typical Beacon Hill family during the 19th and early 20th century. The rooms, converted to galleries, showcase the original furnishing and art pieces the Nichols’ collected over the years, such as 17th and 19th centuries American and European wooden furniture, Flemish tapestries, family portraits, oriental rugs, Italian paintings, and a sculpture made by Augustus Saint-Gaudens. Hear the story of Rose and her family, and enjoy special events, including ‘Nichols after Dark’, gallery talks, and the Traditional Beacon Hill Eggnog Party. Read more...

Mary Dyer was a Quaker who fought for religious freedom. In 1660 these beliefs were considered a crime, and she was persecuted for practicing Quakerism and eventually hanged for it. Mary Dyer’s death influenced religious freedom legalization and the Constitution’s Bill of Rights. Her statue has stood near the Massachusetts State House entrance, not far from where she was executed, since July 9th, 1959. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts commissioned the famous Quaker artist Sylvia Shaw Judson to create it, depicting Dyer sitting peacefully on a bench wearing Quaker clothes, looking at her hands as if praying. The inscription on the stone pedestal reads: “MARY DYER QUAKER WITNESS FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM HANGED ON BOSTON COMMON 1660 MY LIFE NOT AVAILETH ME IN COMPARION TO THE LIBERTY OF THE TRUTH” Replicas of this statue stand at the Friends Center entrance, a Quaker hub in Philadelphia, and Stout Meetinghouse at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana.Nearby the Mary Dyer statue, on Massachusetts State House grounds, stands the statue of another religious freedom fighter, Anne Hutchinson. Read more...

A community center for all who identify as women from all backgrounds. The center’s mission is to provide a supportive space and offer opportunities for healing, learning, empowerment, and trauma support. To achieve those goals, the center operates various services such as telephone and in-person helpline, legal service, material assistance of food and clothing, and information about employment and housing. Among the center’s facilities are a library, a computer lab, a beautiful garden, and the company of other women. Visitors can participate in different activities, including yoga, meditation, sewing, art workshops, writing workshops, feminist book club, theater group, managing money classes, trauma support group, and The Survivor Quilt Project. Read more...

The Museum of the National Center of Afro American is dedicated to the heritage of black art and culture worldwide, including African, African-American, Afro-Caribbean, and Afro-Latin. The exhibits reveal the personal as well as the collective narratives of the African diaspora throughout the years. Explore the diverse collection of historical and contemporary art – from sculpture and painting to photography and decorative arts. Enjoy the changing exhibitions and the permanent exhibit of the Aspelta tomb – a burial chamber of a Nubian King. Visitors are welcome to participate in education programs, both for adults and children, and attend special events such as lectures, conversation with the curator, and the annual Black Nativity Performance. The National Center of Afro-American Artists, and later the museum, was established in 1968 by Dr. Elma Lewis, an arts educator. Her goal was to create an artistic and cultural center that celebrates black art and empower black intellectual and creative development. Read more...

Not many women in colonial America are known for their struggle for women’s rights. One exception is Anne Hutchinson, a Puritan spiritual adviser who believed in religious freedom as well as woman’s equality. Due to her unconventional beliefs she was sentenced and banished with her followers, and moved to establish the Rhode Island colony. Years later, Hutchinson became a symbol of Christian feminism. The bronze statue of Hutchinson, sculptured by Cyrus Dallin, depicts her looking toward heaven, holding a bible in one hand and her daughter in the other one. A plaque at the front of the statue’s granite base provides a summary of her life and heroine traits. It was commissioned in 1920 by several women’s groups and installed in 1922.   Discover more about Hutchinson in a guided tour about her in Boston.   Read more...