A Legacy of Resilience
- Partners for Historical Justice
- Jan 15
- 2 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
Title
A Legacy of Resilience
Location
2000 block of Martin Luther King Jr., Ave, Across from Busboys and Poets
Artists
Murals by three artists, from left to right:
Candice S. Taylor: Upward and Onwards We Go
Mia Duvall: Ain’t I A Woman
Miss Chelove: Lifting as We Climb
Three murals, side by side, celebrate the 100th anniversary of the passage of women’s suffrage. Each honors the contributions of Black women in the struggle for democracy and voting rights. The second mual references the famous 1851 speech in Akron, Ohio, by Sojourner Truth, usually called the “Ain’t I a Woman? “ speech, an eloquent demand for full social and legal rights for women of color.
For background on the 19th century (“Women’s Suffrage”) Amendment, please see: https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/19th-amendment-explained
Interpretive notes
The close coordination between the three works, all distinctive yet resonant with one another, emphasizes the values of sisterhood, community and solidarity to which this artistic community is devoted.
Note that in each mural, at least one woman breaks through the frame of the image onto the surrounding wall, through a raised fist, or a head held high, or a hand held up to look into the distance. The point, we infer, is that these are not women who stay within conventional frames or guardrails.
Prompts for closer looking:
For all the differences between the three works, look at the eyes of the women. Are any of them downcast? Are they all looking out in one way or another? What might that suggest about their determination and their attitudes toward future struggle?
In the Candice Taylor image, on the far left, how is the relationship between different generations of women evoked: from the Suffragists of the early 20th century, to modern activists, to girls of today?
In Mia Duvall’s painting, how is the famous quote by Sojourner Truth,“Ain’t I a Woman?” incorporated into the image, and how does the artist pose this question through a range of different kinds of women?
In Miss Chelove’s Lifting as We Climb, how is the historical connection between the Native American woman Zitkála-Šá (Gertrude Simmons Bonnin, 1876-1938) and the African American activist Mary Church Terrell evoked?
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