central park

Central Park to Break ‘Bronze Ceiling' With First Statue Honoring Women

The women’s suffrage movement, which caused the passage of the 19th amendment, is finally being recognized with a statue in Central Park

NBC Universal, Inc.

A stroll through Central Park offers a walk through history. With the exception of literary figures like Alice in Wonderland and Mother Goose -- that history has long left out women.

One century after the ratification of the 19th Amendment, some of the pioneers of the Women's Suffrage Movement are shattering the "Bronze Ceiling."

For seven years, the non-profit Monumental Women has been fighting to have women be a part of the landscape of Central Park. Next week, on Women's Equality Day, three real women will get a seat at that table.

"The first statue of real women in the 167-year history of Central Park is here. We're honored to be the group that breaks the bronze ceiling," said Pam Elam, president of Monumental Women.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Sojourner Truth, three women's rights pioneers and New Yorkers, will be immortalized in statue within the park.

"They worked together and supported each other in many ways. It's only fitting that they share the same pedestal," Elam said.

The Women's Rights Movement has a complicated legacy, says Sarah Seidman, the curator at the Museum of the City of New York.

"The Suffrage Movement was exclusionary and discriminatory to women of color," Seidman says, explaining that open these women were instructed to march in the back of parades.

100 years later, the stories of women who fought for the rights of women will finally be included on literary walk: a 14-foot monument.

It's a wide world out there and it's about time our public spaces reflected that."

Contact Us