Good monuments should remind us of our history, especially those parts of it that have been neglected or forgotten. So when our view of history changes, rather than remove statues, we should think of how to reframe them, to retell their story. Take, for example, the brilliant suggestion by Matthew Parris that the statue of Cecil Rhodes at Oriel College, Oxford should not be removed. Rather, another statue of Lobengula, the king of the Matabele people Rhodes subjugated, should be erected in his line of sight. That way, Rhodes would not be forgotten, but challenged.

At a time when so much attention focuses on efforts to tear down Confederate memorials and other markers, some universities and students are commissioning and creating new testaments to the past, challenging people to view the institution’s history through a more complicated and nuanced lens. “There are,” Akca said, “so many stories that aren’t told here.”

In a city that boasts hundreds and hundreds of statues, just three are devoted to historical women. Two of them died before Philadelphia was even founded.