Two conceptual renderings of the proposed Annapolis Women’s Memorial garden—Annapolis Rose and Lady Annapolis—by Anne-Marie Esson.
The Year of the Woman, celebrating 100 years of women’s right to vote in 2020, has come and gone. Gala celebrations, inspiring speakers, “getting to know you” small group gatherings over lunch, and, lastly, a memorial recognizing the glass ceiling breakers from our City of Annapolis—who opened doors to new opportunities for others to follow—didn’t materialize. Thanks to the Covid pandemic, the celebration dreams for the Year of the Woman in Annapolis just never happened.
Do we have to wait another 100 years for women to tell our story?
One local female artist, Anne-Marie Esson, has a vision for a women’s memorial with a garden and fountain and sitting areas, where stories of Annapolis women who busted through glass ceilings of men’s domains could be recognized. This article may seem self-serving, since I was one of them, the first female mayor to lead Annapolis in 300 years, but I believe this memorial should be built.
There were others before me that opened doors for others to follow. In the elected arena, Virginia Clagett was the first woman on the County Council and Janet Owens was the first female County Executive. Cynthia Carter won a never-heard-of-write-in vote for City Council Alderman. Way before, 250 years before to be exact, Catherine Green took on the job of publishing the Annapolis Gazette, the nation’s oldest continuous newspaper.
So many more women have led the way breaking barriers in business, community service, and government leadership where once they dared not tred. (Remember not so long ago, the doors to higher education were closed to women; and just 50 years ago, most women couldn’t even obtain a credit card.)
The irony of course is that a symbolic woman, named Freedom, has been watching over all of us since 1863 from the dome of the U.S. Capitol. In monuments to historic figures across this nation, however, women are nearly invisible. Of 152 national monuments under the National Park Service, only three represent women. Of the 100 memorials to leaders submitted by states to the U.S. Capitol rotunda, only nine are women. Sacajawea, who led the men of the Lewis and Clark expedition westward, is one of them.
According to a 2015 survey, about 10 percent of all monuments to historic figures represent women. In our large cities, that percent is even lower. New York City has five among hundreds, and Chicago parks have none.
Female statues/figures are depicted conspicuously throughout the U.S. symbolizing liberty, freedom, peace, hope, and justice—the ideals of American government—in classical Roman and Greek mythological styles. But real women with a name that were the first, such as Florence Nightingale, are, by and large, not.
In 2017, a statue named “The Fearless Girl” was placed outside Wall Street. The message of female empowerment suggests to corporate leaders that it is time to include women in leadership positions. At the time, 1,500 corporations had no women on their Board of Directors. Today, two-thirds of them have opened their male domain to include women.
It is time that we too, in our State Capital, honor the local women that broke glass ceilings. Being the first in any endeavor inspires others to dare to be courageous to gain a foot in the door of exclusive power domains. Inclusion provides opportunity to impact policy, public and private, in new ways that enhance quality of life for all of us. Breaking glass ceilings recognizes the value and human dignity of us all.
It is time, with support of our current public leaders, to step up and designate a space for a memorial garden as envisioned by Anne-Marie—a space of beauty, harmony, inspiration, and appreciation for women who were the first to break through the “glass ceiling.”
What do you think?
Let us know by sharing your thoughts. Email editor@whatsupmag.com with the subject line “Women’s Memorial.” You can also write to your public representatives serving on the city and county councils, as well as legislators in both the State Senate and House of Representatives.
