Maya

“Life-size statues of real suffragists! This was a movement powered by women, plural, and while it would be impossible to recognize the thousands (millions?) of Suffragists who fought together for women’s rights, I think it would be powerful to recognize dozens of them. Instead of one huge towering figure, I imagine an awe-inspiring feminist army of statues, all life-sized, all on the ground where people can mingle among them and learn their story. By standing among them, one would also get the sense that they are part of this movement. This also pays tributes to great parades that were powerful demonstrations of women’s will, determination and power. When Susan B. Anthony was asked if women would sit on juries if they got the vote, she quipped “most women would be glad to sit on anything!” Women’s work powers our world, what better way to recognize that than to give women a place to sit down and rest and reflect. Places to gather Let there be water fountains, picnic tables, restrooms, shade and comfortable places to gather. This was a movement powered by women getting together, often with kids running around in the background, while they plotted how to improve the world. We can recognize this aspect of their efforts by enabling it today. A place to sign your name For a while, the petition was the only tool women had to make their voices heard. At first, the suffragists could get only 5 or 40 names on a petition. But in time thousands of people were signing their names—giving real force to their demands—because the cause had become more popular and more acceptable. That happened, in part, because of all the face-to-face conversations suffs were willing to have as they solicited signatures. Change happened person by person, by real people just like us.”