Hulu and The King Center unveiled the Coretta Scott King Monument representing the contributions of the civil rights leader in Atlanta today. Inspired by the glaring gender gap in U.S. monuments, the streaming service commissioned three works to celebrate the lives of notable women. In addition to King, structures commemorating Marjory Stoneman Douglas and Ruth Bader Ginsburg will be unveiled in the coming months.
The King monument was unveiled today on what would have been King’s 96th birthday in The Coretta Scott King Peace and Meditation Garden on the grounds of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change in Atlanta. It features a podium in the center of a domed, open-air structure and was inspired by the many images of King addressing large crowds of people. A live microphone on the podium allows visitors to amplify their own voices.
Around the dome are the words: empathy, change, freedom, justice, peace, compassion, liberty, rights, truth and community. “Women, if the soul of the nation is to be saved, I believe that you must become its soul,” a quote from King, appears inside the structure.
The monuments for environmentalist Marjory Stoneman Douglas in Miami and Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in Los Angeles will be similarly designed. They will not be physical portrayals of the women’s likenesses but instead embody the spirit and ideals of the women. The artist for all three projects is Saya Woolfalk.
Hulu was inspired to commission the works when they learned of the tremendous gender gap in U.S. monuments. Of the 6,288 outdoor historical sculptures in the United States, less than 10% (only 555) portray female figures, according to the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s online inventories catalog. Central Park in New York City has an extensive collection of statues, but until 2020, the only female figures depicted were fictional—Mother Goose and Alice in Wonderland. In 2020, Central Park added the Women’s Rights Pioneers Monument portraying suffragists Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Sojourner Truth.
The lack of women is particularly notable in the National Statuary Hall Collection in the United States Capitol. Each state donates two statues to honor exceptional individuals in their history, so the collection has 100 works. Only 11 depict women. Notably, 12 of the statues represent men named John.
The organization Equal Visibility Everywhere is dedicated to achieving gender parity in the symbols and icons of the United States. In addition to monuments, the organization tracks the lack of women in currency, stamps and other cultural representations. There are currently no women on the front or back of any U.S. paper currency. According to Equal Visibility Everywhere, the United States Postal Service pictured 206 individuals on commemorative stamps from 2000 to 2009; only 43 were women. From 2010 to 2019, the numbers improved slightly, 89 commemorative stamps honoring individuals were issued, and only 26 were women.
The gender disparities in our statues, monuments, stamps and currency are significant because they convey to our kids that leaders are men. Children internalize this information, impacting their educational aspirations when they reach school age. In fact, gender is the most powerful predictor of occupational aspirations among school-age children.
But when children and adults are exposed to positive female role models, it can change how they perceive women. One study found that female college students exposed to women famous for their contributions to science, law and politics were less likely to hold stereotypic beliefs about women. Remembering these women in statues, monuments, stamps and currency would be a great start to increasing this exposure and inspiring young women.
“When girls and women don’t see themselves on our currency or stamps, remembered in our museums or memorialized in our statuary, the message is clear. Your contributions don’t count. You don’t matter,” Equal Visibility Everywhere summarizes.
Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Check out my website.