Clinton pushes for monuments of suffragists: ‘These women deserve statues’

Hillary Clinton on Monday pushed for monuments of prominent suffragists to be created as the nation grapples with which figures to memorialize with statues. 

“A lot of these women deserve statues,” Clinton said as part of a Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission virtual event. 

She named Ida B. Wells, Sojourner Truth and Alice Paul among women who should be considered to be memorialized with monuments. 

“When we think about, OK, if we’re going to have visible physical memorials, why don’t we celebrate those women through history that moved us toward that more perfect union?” Clinton asked. 

Activists have renewed calls to remove monuments memorializing Confederate figures and white supremacists amid protests over racial inequality sparked by the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Others have also called out the lack of diversity among figures memorialized across the U.S. 

Clinton mentioned a monument honoring Sojourner Truth, Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton that is set to be unveiled later this month in New York’s Central Park, but she noted that there are many more suffragists who can be memorialized for the work they did. 

Clinton spoke as part of a discussion celebrating 100 years since women got the right to vote. During the conversation, she said she often thought about the women who fought for women’s right to vote while she served as first lady, a New York senator, secretary of State and when she became the first woman to be nominated as a presidential candidate from a major political party four years ago. 

“[Those women] did not live to see the result of all that labor, and sometimes you have to understand you’re in the relay race of history. You’re handing off the baton that you have taken from someone else,” Clinton said. 

Asked by Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden if she felt like she was carrying on the legacy of suffragists, Clinton said: “very much.”

“I felt like I was standing in the great river of history. I felt so privileged and honored to play that role, to be there at that moment to link our past and present and future,” she said. “And that’s why I get so much encouragement and truly optimism at this time because young people seem so energized and so committed to trying to do better and really create more opportunities to bring everyone into the American experiment.”