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. Read more...

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. Read more...

The Mary Todd Lincoln House was the family home of the wife of President Abraham Lincoln, where she lived from the age of 14 to 21. This is the first restored historic house of a First Lady. In a 1-hour tour, you’ll dive into the history of the turbulent 19th century through the eyes of Mary and her family. Learn about the complicated life of Mary Todd Lincoln, from the death of her mother when she was only 6 years old to her isolated years as a widow after Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. Hear how the Civil War divided the slave-owning household and see how the southern aristocracy used to live by viewing periodical furniture, artifacts, and family portraits. You can also take a stroll in the garden and enjoy special events, such as ‘Floral First Lady Bouquet Building Workshop,’ ‘Myths, Memories, and Mrs. Lincoln’ and ‘Death, Mourning, and Mrs. Lincoln Evening.’ Explore this house in this self-guided tour: see all the details here. Read more...