A crack in the “bronze ceiling,” this monument is a step forward for equal representation in public art. However, viewers must remember the complex history behind the 19th Amendment. That amendment passed amid a political triangle of white men, African Americans and women, who were already excluded from the protections granted by the 14th Amendment, due to its selection of the word “male.”

Stanton warned, “If that word ‘male’ be inserted, it will take us a century at least to get it out.” In 1859, Stanton wrote to Anthony: “When I pass the gate of the celestials and good Peter asks me where I wish to sit, I will say, ‘Anywhere so that I am neither a Negro nor a woman. Confer on me, great angel, the glory of White manhood, so that henceforth I may feel unlimited freedom.’”

Monument Honoring Suffragists Installed in Central Park

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