The Downtown Memphis Commission and TN Suffrage Heritage Trail will also make the video available on their websites following the event. Many of those involved with the monument will speak, including Michelle Duster, author, public historian, and great-granddaughter of Ida B. Wells.
“We are delighted this monument is at the law school telling the story of these remarkable people who helped American women win the right to vote with Tennessee’s ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920,” said Paula Casey, chair of the Memphis Suffrage Monument Committee. “We honor those whose careers were made possible by the suffragists’ victory who also fought for equality for all Americans. All American women vote today thanks to Tennessee.”
Alan LeQuire of Nashville (www.alanlequire.com) is the artist/sculptor who began work on the monument in 2016. He has worked on five suffrage monuments in the state, two in Nashville, two in Knoxville, and one in Memphis. He has stated he wants to spend the rest of his career memorializing these women in statuary.
The monument features 12 women and one man. Learn more:
downtownmemphis.com/suffrage-monument/
memphissuffragemonument.com
Watch the live stream or the recap of the event:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTNND5F1aBw
For more information, contact Paula Casey, at 901-335-8000, pfcasey@bellsouth.net.
Alan LeQuire has sculpted six busts for the Memphis Suffrage Monument, “Equality Trailblazers.” Pictured in his studio from left to right are: Charl Ormond Williams, Rep. Joe Hanover, Mary Church Terrell, Marion Griffin, Rep. Lois DeBerry and Ida B. Wells. They will be placed atop steel pedestals in front of the steel/glass panels facing the Mississippi River. LED lights will shine down on them at night.
Ida B. Wells Bust Sponsored by:
The city has broken ground on the upcoming Memphis Suffrage Monument. Depending on weather and production of the 14 glass panels, we are aiming for unveiling this year.
Memphis Suffrage Monument “Equality Trailblazers” To Be Unveiled this year
The following individuals will be featured on the monument:
Busts:
Ida B. Wells: Journalist, anti-lynching campaigner, later suffragist
Mary Church Terrell: Suffragist, champion of racial and gender equality
Marion Griffin: First woman to get a law license in TN, the first woman elected to state House
Rep. Joe Hanover: House floor leader who kept pro-suffrage votes together, an ally of Carrie Chapman Catt, attorney, humanitarian
Charl Ormond Williams: A nationally known educator who coordinated state ratification efforts, stood by Gov. Roberts when he signed ratification papers
Rep. Lois DeBerry: First female Speaker Pro Tempore in Tennessee legislature, 40 years of public service
Etched faces and narratives in glass:
Lide Smith Meriwether: Early suffragist who had national recognition
Lulu Colyar Reese: Later suffragist, in Nashville in 1920
Alma H. Law: First woman to serve on Shelby County Quarterly Court, served until her death in 1947
Maxine Smith: Civil rights legend, NAACP Executive Director, registered large numbers of women to vote
Minerva Johnican: First black female on County Commission and City Council, ran for city mayor in 1987, was nationally recognized Criminal Court Clerk
Frances Grant Loring: Women’s rights and civil rights activist, marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a founding member of the Association for Women Attorneys, Metropolitan Inter-Faith Association
Happy Snowden Jones: Founding member of Panel of American Women, helped avert 2nd sanitation workers strike, the first donor to this monument, a feminist philanthropist who was the benefactor of The Perfect 36: Tennessee Delivers Woman Suffrage book, e-book, and audiobook
Great news! We are the newest #AWBgrantee! Find out more about our project and the Awesome Without Borders grant: Awesome Without Borders
Bill Haltom, an author and retired attorney, has written a new book about Joe Hanover entitled Why Can’t Mother Vote – Joseph Hanover and the Unfinished Business of Democracy. Order information is at www.billhaltom.com
The e-book is available at: Why Can’t Mother Vote?: Joseph Hanover and the Unfinished Business of Democracy
Tennessee Statesman Harry T. Burn: Woman Suffrage, Free Elections and a Life of Service
Clarksville Cookbook Proceeds Benefit Suffrage Statue
Tennessee Triumph Cookbook is a commemorative collection of vintage and current recipes. It honors the efforts of the women of Clarksville-Montgomery County, Tennessee who worked for Suffrage and helped Tennessee become “The Perfect 36,” the necessary final state to ratify the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution in August 1920.
The book includes details about some of those Suffragists and the tasks undertaken by volunteer researchers to rediscover their forgotten story. It is a story echoed in communities across the country, not of the famous stars of the Suffrage movement, but of dedicated advocates who persisted year after year in a small Middle Tennessee town.
Thirty-nine women have been identified so far, with research continuing. Clarksville is erecting a statue, Tennessee Triumph, to honor and remember them in the 100th Anniversary of Woman Suffrage. All proceeds from this book help fund the statue.
$20.00 per copy
Available from Sango Family and Community Educators.
Make checks payable to Sango FCE.
Brenda Harper
503 Lisa Court
Clarksville, TN 37043
