NYC adding 4 monuments of women trailblazers

Out of all the statues that can be found around NYC, only five women are depicted. She Built NYC is an effort by the city to change that by expanding representation of women in public art and monument. The city wants to honor women with a significant connection to NY and even asked the public last year for some help to do it.

Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman to serve in the House of Representatives is getting a statue, the city announced in November. Shirley was also the first woman to seek the Democratic Party’s nomination for President back in 1972!

🎷Aside from Shirley, four women are getting statues in the boroughs that were once home to them. Jazz singer Billie Holiday, who helped break down racial barriers in the arts, will get one in Queens.

📓Teacher Elizabeth Jennings Graham will get a statue in Manhattan. Elizabeth became famous for suing the the Third Avenue Railroad company after she boarded and streetcar but didn’t notice a sign that said it did not service black people. When she refused to get off the streetcar despite the conductors attempts, she was thrown onto the sidewalk by a policeman. Basically she’s the OG Rosa Parks.  Oh and she won the lawsuit by the way.

👩🏽‍⚕️Pediatrician Helen Rodriguez Trias will be getting her own statue in St. Mary’s Park in the Bronx. She’s known for being the first Latina director of the American public health association. When she was a pediatrician she worked with sexually abused children and those that were susceptible to AIDS. Afterwards, she developed programs for families affected by HIV in the late 80s.

💡Staten Island is getting a statue of Katherine Walker who spent 3 decades as the keeper of the Robbins Reef Lighthouse. Part of her job was to signal for help whenever there was a shipwreck. She’s been credited for helping save the lives of at least 50 people.