Lilian Jeannette Rice (1889-1938) grew up in National City, San Diego County, CA, a few miles from the Mexican border. In 1910, she graduated from the School of Architecture at the University of California at Berkeley with an architecture degree, becoming one of the first female architects in the country. A year later, she completed a teaching degree. Caring for her ill mother brought her back to her hometown, where she worked as a teacher and draftsman for Hazel Wood Waterman, the first female architect of San Diego. In 1921, Rice started working as an associate in the office of Richard Requa and Herbert Jackson. Soon she got the Rancho Santa Fe project and became its core designer, planning the masterplan, houses, and commercial buildings. In 1927 Rice received her architect license and opened her office in 1928. She continued designing homes for Rancho Santa Fe and even moved there, took occasional trips to Spain, and worked on projects in the San Diego area, till her death from ovarian cancer in 1938. Rice was known to design in the Spanish Colonial style, with “restraint in decoration, high-quality craftsmanship and harmony between a home and its site.” Several of her buildings were added to the National Register of Historic Places. On Lilian Rice Day, October 26th, 2021, the Rancho Santa Fe community unveiled a statue honoring Rice. A Roaring ’20s-themed gala held by the Rancho Santa Fe Historical Society followed the community ceremony. Peggy Brooks, the former vice president of the Rancho Santa Fe Historical Society, initiated the idea to commemorate Rice with a statue. Jenny Freeborn and the Rancho Santa Fe Historical Society commissioned the local artist Nina de Burgh to sculpt it. Read more...

On the top of Nichol Hall Hill stands a statue that brings the historical moment of the founding of Loma Linda University to life. On June 12th, 1905, Ellen White and her son, Willie, went to Loma Linda and met the new owner, John Burden. On arrival, White said she had already visited the place in her visions when God designated the property as a health center. Dr. Reuben Matiko, Loma Linda University Health alumni (1945), commissioned the sculpture to commemorate the university’s connection to God and its founders. The sculpture, titled “This is the Very Place,” was created by Victor Issa and unveiled on May 24th, 2014, in a special ceremony attended by members of the White and Burden families. Ellen G. White (1827-1915) was the co-founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, an author, and a leading vegetarianism advocate. Throughout her life, White had over 2,000 visions and dreams from God in private and public, speaking and writing about them. She wrote 5,000 articles and 40 books and is considered the most-translated female non-fiction author in the history of literature and the most-translated American non-fiction author. Her writing covered many subjects besides religion, including health, relationships, and agriculture. She co-established schools and medical centers worldwide, including the Loma Linda University and Medical Center in California. Read more...

The Sojourner Truth African Heritage Museum (SOJO Museum) educates and celebrates African-American history, legacy, and culture. Found in 1996 by the artist and community activist Shonna McDaniels, the museum resides at Florin Square, home to the largest collaboration of black-owned businesses in Northern California. Besides directing the museum, McDaniels, a muralist herself, works with artists to commemorate notable African-Americans on the Florin Square’s walls. In March 2021, the museum received a grant that allowed it to expand to 3,000 square feet. The museum tells the story of African-Americans in America in different interactive exhibitions bringing to life thousands of years of black heritage with incorporated videos, artwork, murals, artifacts, and commentary. Among the exhibited topics are the Great Migration, the Harlem Renaissance, notable people such as Sojourner Truth, Black Cowboys, art by Black artists during 1963-1983, Black Women Reclaiming Our Grace, and Escaped Slavery and Became Millionaires. The museum hosts special events like the Woman’s Festival, the Black Woman celebration, the African Market, holidays like Kwanzaa and Black History Month, and various art activities such as the paint n sip. Sojourner Truth (1797-1883) was a former slave who became a preacher, public speaker, activist, abolitionist, and national advocate for equal rights for African-American women. She was born and lived in slavery as Isabella Baumfree for almost thirty years before escaping to freedom with her infant daughter. In her first ten years as a free woman, she worked as a domestic in New Paltz, NY, and then in New York City. In her forties, she followed god’s call to speak the truth to people; she changed her name to Sojourner Truth and traveled around the US preaching and giving public speeches in community gatherings, churches, and conversions, advocating for equal rights. Read more...

The first sculpture that was dedicated at Scripps College’s new sculpture garden was unique not only because it was the first but also for the following reasons: 1. This sculpture honors Harriet Tubman, who freed herself from the shackles of slavery and became a civil rights activist and iconic conductor of the Underground Railroad, guiding hundreds of enslaved people to freedom. 2. This is Tubman’s first statue on the west coast. 3. Alison Saar is the contemporary American artist who created it, and she is an alumna of Scripps College, a women’s college founded by Ellen Browning Scripps in 1926. Tubman’s statue is a reduced version of the 13-foot bronze statue that has stood on the Harriet Tubman Triangle in Harlem, New York City, since 2008. The college dedicated it on national Harriet Tubman Day, March 10, 2010, in a special ceremony that was part of the college’s yearlong celebration of “The Genius of Women” celebrating the inauguration of its eighth president, Dr. Lori Bettison-Varga. The ceremony included a gospel performance, speeches by the college president, Dr. Lori Bettison-Varga, the artist Alison Saar, and Professor Emerita Samella Lewis, and a poem recitation by the poet Lynne Thompson (’72 alumna), which she wrote for the dedication. This standing sculpture of Harriet Tubman (1822-1913) tells her life story. She is depicted in motion, the roots of slavery on her back; while they try to pull her back, she is unstoppable and continues forward. Her skirt has prints of the faces of the people she rescued from slavery, as if she is the train that carries them to freedom. The statue’s base is surrounded by tiles with symbols representing moments from Tubman’s life and traditional African-American quilting signs. Read more...

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...

On July 10th, 1999, was the final game in the FIFA Women’s World Cup between China and the US team at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, with more than 90K people in the crowd. The US team won when Brandi Chastain scored the last penalty goal. It was a historic moment in women’s sports history, paving the way for more women’s professional athletes in team sports and inspiring many young girls to pursue their sports dreams. Celebrating the 20 years of this iconic moment, the Rose Bowl Stadium commissioned Brian Hanlon to create a statue. It depicts Chastain in her iconic pose just after scoring the winning goal; behind her is a round relief panel showing her teammates running towards her to join the celebration. Three weeks before the dedication ceremony, the national US women soccer team made history again when they won the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France. This win would not have happened without the 1999 historic win. Three of the original team members, Saskia Webber, Lorrie Fair, and Brandi Chastain, attended the dedication ceremony; together, they read all the team members’ names and numbers. From Chastain’s speech- “It’s the celebration of an amazing World Cup but also a celebration of women who are strong, who are passionate. We knew what we wanted, and we went after it.”   Read more...

A statue of Lucille Ball presented as Lucy Ricardo from the TV series I Love Lucy is placed in downtown Palm Springs. Ball is sitting on a bench in the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf outdoor seating area, few miles from her residence in Palm Springs. Many passersby, locals, and tourists stop and take a picture while sitting next to her. Lucille Ball (1911-1989) found her passion for performing on stage from a young age. She left her hometown Celoron to New York City, where she modeled and did small acting jobs. In the early 1930s, she moved to Hollywood and established her acting career in films, mostly comedies, and musicals. Her breakthrough came in 1951 with the TV series “I Love Lucy” and its follow-ups, where she was the star and producer. The show was a hit from its first day. It was on top of the US rating lists when it aired and was considered one of US history’s best comedy shows. Ball continued to perform in musicals, comedy shows, and films till her last years. The statue was created by the artists Emmanuil and Janet Snitkovsky in 1995. It was commissioned by the City of Palm Springs as part of the Walk of Stars project, which showcases stars on the sidewalk of famous celebrities. Read more...

A bronze statue of Georgia O’Keeffe, a painter, who is known as “the mother of American modernism.” The semi-realistic, semi-abstract statue that was created and dedicated in 1982 depicts O’Keeffe as an older woman, sitting on a tree stump and holding a cane, with her two dogs, Bo and Chia, by her sides. All are facing west, towards the setting sun. The sculptress, Marisol Escobar, based the portrait on a photograph she took while visiting O’Keeffe in New Mexico. Read more...

The “Lady of the Lamp” is a cast stone statue of Florence Nightingale, known as “The founder of professional nursing,” and the mentor of Linda Richards, who was the first trained nurse in the US. Since the 19th century till these days, Nightingale inspired many nurses, and for that reason, this location of the statue was chosen, facing the Laguna Honda hospital, and symbolizes the role she still has on modern nursing. The statue, designed by David Edstrom and dedicated on the National Hospital Day in 1939, depicts Nightingale in her nursing uniform, holding a lamp during a hospital round, visiting wounded soldiers. A duplicate of this statue is located at Lincoln Park in Los Angeles. Read more...

The YWCA Berkeley/Oakland is a non-profit organization with the mission is to eliminate racism, develop leadership, empower women, and promote peace, justice, and freedom. The organization programs and workshops are open to all, with no religious affiliation. Join the YWCA Berkeley/Oakland and enjoy various activities, such as dance and fitness classes, career coaching, mentor programs, English and American culture meetings, as well as scholars speaker lectures of UC Berkeley outstanding women professors. Between activities, you can explore the changing art exhibits at the lobby and meeting rooms, and participate in special events, including the Annual Festival of Women Authors, Know Your Rights Workshop, and Free the Tampon Rally. The YWCA Berkeley/Oakland founded in 1889 by 17 women who wanted to provide support, community services, and leadership training to girls and women. For over 125 years, the organization established a legacy of empowering women and promoting justice for all, without religious, racial, or social bias. Read more...