Congratulations to Ryan Gemos (left), Harrison Maki (middle), and Emma Whitney (right) for being the first students to tweet a selfie at the October 20th #FindMeFriday location!
A little about this week’s location:
The Boston Women’s Memorial is located between Fairfield and Glouster Streets, on the beautiful, historic, and incredibly informational Commonwealth Avenue Mall. This Memorial features Abigail Adams (1744-1818, Weymouth, MA), Lucy Stone (1818-1893, Brookfield, MA), and Phillis Wheatley (1753-1784, West Africa, colonial Boston). As stated in the Boston Women’s Memorial, 2003, City of Boston Brochure “Each of these women had progressive ideas that were ahead of her time, was committed to social change, and left a legacy through her writings that had a significant impact on history.”
The Boston Women’s Memorial was borne from a decade-long conversation among the residents and leadership of the City of Boston about the lack of representation of women in public statues. These sculptures were created by Meredith Bergmann and were installed on the Commonwealth Avenue Mall in 2003. These women are three of the most photographed sculptures in Boston. To learn more about the artist and her process in creating this important memorial, please visit: http://www.nccsc.net/essays/boston-women%E2%80%99s-memorial
One of the most powerful aspects of this memorial for me, personally, is these women are not standing on their pedestals, instead they are actively engaging with the pedestal. It demonstrates that change cannot happen from standing still and that leading doesn’t come from standing above others, but rather being on the ground next to them.
The entire length of the Commonwealth Avenue Mall, from Arlington to Hereford Streets, is rich with Boston history. During the winter months, the trees lining the Mall sparkle with strings of lights, creating a winter wonderland for those enjoying a late afternoon or early morning walk. I hope you will take advantage of this stretch of history that is less than 1.5 miles from campus!
Live in your City, my friends!
Note: In the spirit of full disclosure, the photo I tweeted and used above isn’t the photo I took on my run Friday morning. I took that photo last year in November. Fall Day Light Savings Time hasn’t happened yet, so the Boston Women’s Memorial at 6:30 a.m. in October looks like this:
