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| Where Women Made History … Right Under Your Feet | Where Women Made History … Right Under Your Feet |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| You’re reading In Her Words, where women rule the headlines. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Let us know what you think at inherwords@nytimes.com. | You’re reading In Her Words, where women rule the headlines. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Let us know what you think at inherwords@nytimes.com. |
| “Finding monuments to honor women should not be a scavenger hunt.” | “Finding monuments to honor women should not be a scavenger hunt.” |
| — Chirlane McCray, New York’s first lady | — Chirlane McCray, New York’s first lady |
| Boston Harbor. The Washington Monument. The Statue of Liberty. These are the sites of American history many of us learned about in school. | Boston Harbor. The Washington Monument. The Statue of Liberty. These are the sites of American history many of us learned about in school. |
| But what about the old stone church in Akron, Ohio, where Sojourner Truth delivered her famous “Ain’t I a Woman?” speech? Or the Manhattan entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge, where a little-known plaque honors Emily Roebling, who oversaw construction when her husband, the bridge’s architect, fell ill? (Roebling was the first person to walk across the bridge, bringing a chicken for good luck.) | But what about the old stone church in Akron, Ohio, where Sojourner Truth delivered her famous “Ain’t I a Woman?” speech? Or the Manhattan entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge, where a little-known plaque honors Emily Roebling, who oversaw construction when her husband, the bridge’s architect, fell ill? (Roebling was the first person to walk across the bridge, bringing a chicken for good luck.) |
| Researchers estimate that women’s stories make up just 0.5 percent of recorded history. When it comes to public monuments they are largely invisible — absent from landmarks, statues and street names. Of the country’s 5,200 historical memorials, women represent less than 8 percent of the subjects. Of New York City’s 145 historical statues, just five are of women. | Researchers estimate that women’s stories make up just 0.5 percent of recorded history. When it comes to public monuments they are largely invisible — absent from landmarks, statues and street names. Of the country’s 5,200 historical memorials, women represent less than 8 percent of the subjects. Of New York City’s 145 historical statues, just five are of women. |
| [Related: More Women Deserve Statues in New York. Here are 10.] | [Related: More Women Deserve Statues in New York. Here are 10.] |
| Over the past few years, a small but increasingly vocal group of activists have lobbied city governments and parks departments to correct the imbalance: In November New York City announced that Shirley Chisholm would become the first female historical figure to have a public monument in Brooklyn, as part of a larger initiative to expand representation of wome. | Over the past few years, a small but increasingly vocal group of activists have lobbied city governments and parks departments to correct the imbalance: In November New York City announced that Shirley Chisholm would become the first female historical figure to have a public monument in Brooklyn, as part of a larger initiative to expand representation of wome. |
| But for now, the stories of remarkable, unruly, radical and trailblazing women are often right under our feet — on the street corners and park benches we walk by every day. | But for now, the stories of remarkable, unruly, radical and trailblazing women are often right under our feet — on the street corners and park benches we walk by every day. |
| This summer, The Times started a walking tour to document some of the little-known locations where women made history in New York. (Want to check it out? Use the special offer code INHERWORDS for 15 percent off tickets or enter here for a chance to win two.) | |
| Now we’re expanding our list beyond the city — and we need your help. | Now we’re expanding our list beyond the city — and we need your help. |
| Is there a location in your town where some bit of remarkable women’s history took place? | Is there a location in your town where some bit of remarkable women’s history took place? |
| It could be a bar that barred women until a groundbreaking law in 1970 (Barbara Shaum was the first to be allowed inside McSorley’s in Manhattan), a street corner where a woman was arrested for smoking in public (Katie Mulcahey, in 1908), or a nondescript office building where a group of women decided to start a feminist zine (Bust). Or something else entirely. | It could be a bar that barred women until a groundbreaking law in 1970 (Barbara Shaum was the first to be allowed inside McSorley’s in Manhattan), a street corner where a woman was arrested for smoking in public (Katie Mulcahey, in 1908), or a nondescript office building where a group of women decided to start a feminist zine (Bust). Or something else entirely. |
| Email us at inherwords@nytimes.com and tell us about your spot. Where is it, and what happened there? Please provide as many specifics as possible — the more unexpected the better. | Email us at inherwords@nytimes.com and tell us about your spot. Where is it, and what happened there? Please provide as many specifics as possible — the more unexpected the better. |
| ______ | ______ |
| Here are five articles from The Times you might have missed. | Here are five articles from The Times you might have missed. |
| “The more I read, the more I was convinced I could do it.” Robert Ballard found the Titanic. Now he’s trying to solve one of the 20th century’s greatest mysteries: Amelia Earhart’s missing plane. [Read the story] | “The more I read, the more I was convinced I could do it.” Robert Ballard found the Titanic. Now he’s trying to solve one of the 20th century’s greatest mysteries: Amelia Earhart’s missing plane. [Read the story] |
| “We have to live with the scars of his actions for the rest of our lives.” Jeffrey Epstein’s apparent suicide left accusers across the globe shocked and angered that he would never face a full reckoning for his alleged crimes, including the rape and sex trafficking of girls as young as 14. [Read the story] | “We have to live with the scars of his actions for the rest of our lives.” Jeffrey Epstein’s apparent suicide left accusers across the globe shocked and angered that he would never face a full reckoning for his alleged crimes, including the rape and sex trafficking of girls as young as 14. [Read the story] |
| “Why is it men, dominantly, always?” A common trait among mass killers: hatred toward women. Experts say the role of misogyny needs to be part of the debate over how to prevent attacks. [Read the story] | “Why is it men, dominantly, always?” A common trait among mass killers: hatred toward women. Experts say the role of misogyny needs to be part of the debate over how to prevent attacks. [Read the story] |
| “I took my full 16 weeks and I’m still ambitious and care about my career.” Seventy-six percent of fathers are back to work within a week after the birth or adoption of a child. Alexis Ohanian, Serena Williams’s husband, writes why he thinks every father should take family leave, as he did. [Read the story] | “I took my full 16 weeks and I’m still ambitious and care about my career.” Seventy-six percent of fathers are back to work within a week after the birth or adoption of a child. Alexis Ohanian, Serena Williams’s husband, writes why he thinks every father should take family leave, as he did. [Read the story] |
| “Feminism keeps changing — and should.” Ann Snitow, a teacher and activist who mobilized feminists and chronicled their ebbs and flows for over nearly half a century, died at 76. [Read her obituary] | “Feminism keeps changing — and should.” Ann Snitow, a teacher and activist who mobilized feminists and chronicled their ebbs and flows for over nearly half a century, died at 76. [Read her obituary] |
| Sign up here to get future installments of In Her Words delivered to your inbox. | Sign up here to get future installments of In Her Words delivered to your inbox. |
| ______ | ______ |
| It was not customary for a woman to accompany a man to a construction site in the late 19th century. Petticoats tended to get in the way of physical work. | It was not customary for a woman to accompany a man to a construction site in the late 19th century. Petticoats tended to get in the way of physical work. |
| But when Washington A. Roebling, the chief engineer of the Brooklyn Bridge, fell ill, his wife, Emily Warren Roebling, stepped in — managing, liaising and politicking between city officials, workers and her husband’s bedside to see the world’s first steel-wire suspension bridge to completion. | But when Washington A. Roebling, the chief engineer of the Brooklyn Bridge, fell ill, his wife, Emily Warren Roebling, stepped in — managing, liaising and politicking between city officials, workers and her husband’s bedside to see the world’s first steel-wire suspension bridge to completion. |
| Today, the plaque on the Manhattan side of the bridge reads: “Back of every great work we can find the self-sacrificing devotion of a woman.” | Today, the plaque on the Manhattan side of the bridge reads: “Back of every great work we can find the self-sacrificing devotion of a woman.” |
| Read past In Her Words here. | Read past In Her Words here. |
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