
Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer honored the suffragette for her birthday. (Photo by Maria Rocha-Buschel)
By Maria Rocha-Buschel
Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and nonprofit organization Monumental Women honored Susan B. Anthony and her contribution to women’s rights on the occasion of her 200th birthday last week in Madison Square Park.
Although the celebration was held last Friday on Valentine’s Day, Anthony was actually born on February 15, 1820. Brewer issued a proclamation declaring the day of her birth “Susan B. Anthony Day” and those in attendance to celebrate the suffragette also celebrated a new statue that will debut in Central Park later this year, honoring Anthony as well as suffragists and abolitionists Sojourner Truth and Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
“As we all know, it’ll be the first statue of women in Central Park,” Brewer said. “Alice in Wonderland does not count. We are approaching the centennial ratification of the 19th amendment and women’s suffrage, and taking this stand for equality makes for a perfect preview for the legacy of Susan B. Anthony. And it’s very fitting that on the anniversary this year in August, Monumental Women will launch their women’s history campaign with a challenge to municipalities around the United States helping communities explore what they can do to honor all the women that make up our constituents.”
Pam Elam, president of Monumental Women, said that the area around Madison Square Park has a special significance for Susan B. Anthony and women’s suffrage, since Anthony once lived on East 23rd Street near Park Avenue South and the National Women’s Suffrage Association, founded by Anthony, was located on East 23rd Street near Madison Avenue.