Today, the Women’s Suffrage National Monument Foundation announced a historic bipartisan and bicameral partnership with leaders in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives to bring the congressionally authorized Women’s Suffrage National Monument to the National Mall through the “Women’s Suffrage National Monument Location Act.”
“The National Mall is where ‘we the people’ showcase our history. It is the land that holds our national memory,” said Anna Laymon, Executive Director of the Women’s Suffrage National Monument Foundation. “And yet, walking the grounds of the National Mall today, you will encounter war memorials and monuments honoring civil rights heroes and past presidents. You will stand in awe of the giants who have earned their place in our national story. But you won’t see women. With the support of Congress, that is all about to change.”
The “Women’s Suffrage National Monument Location Act,” originally sponsored by Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Congressman Joe Neguse (D-CO), and Congresswoman Debbie Lesko (R-AZ), will authorize the Women’s Suffrage National Monument to be placed within the National Mall, thereby ensuring that the 36 million annual visitors to our Nation’s Capital experience a deeper and more inclusive American history.
“History is full of pioneering women, but that’s not reflected in Washington,” says Foundation Ambassador Susan Combs, former Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management, & Budget of the Department of the Interior. “Of the 423 National Parks managed by the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service, only 10 commemorate some aspect of American women’s history. That’s 2.3%. We can and must do better. But only Congress has the authority to decide which monuments are placed within the National Mall, and only Congress can give this foundational American history the prominent place it has so long been denied. The ‘Women’s Suffrage National Monument Location Act’ will uphold the integrity of the National Mall, which is the most visited national park in the United States, by finally including women’s stories in the beating heart of the Nation’s Capital.”
“Just over a century ago, the United States finally welcomed women into our democracy and extended to them its most fundamental right – the right to vote. But we know that this milestone was only accomplished through a decades-long fight led by women of all backgrounds joining arm and arm, including women of color who fought alongside their white counterparts even though many of whom were still denied the right to vote after the 19th Amendment was ratified,” said Senator Baldwin. “I am honored to introduce this bipartisan legislation to ensure that the monument that honors the suffragists and the fight for women’s right to vote is housed in its rightful place for the world to see, the National Mall. The National Mall is home to memorials for those who fought for our freedom, Presidents who defined our country, and the seat of our government, and it is only fitting that it also houses the Women’s Suffrage National Monument. Wisconsin has been at the forefront of the fight for women’s rights and I am proud to be continuing this long and proud tradition.”
Added Senator Blackburn, “Tennessee has played a critical role in the women’s suffrage fight since we became the 36th and final state needed to ratify the 19th Amendment – granting women the right to vote. I’m pleased to join Senator Baldwin in this bipartisan legislation that will ensure the Women’s Suffrage Monument is given its rightful place on the National Mall and honors the work of Susan B. Anthony and the trailblazers who fought ardently for future generations of women.”
