Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Arts & Entertainment
Here's The Shirley Chisholm Monument Coming To Brooklyn In 2020
By
Jen Carlson
Published Apr 24, 2019
Modified Apr 24, 2019
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
View all 6
By
Jen Carlson
Published Apr 24, 2019
Modified Apr 24, 2019
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
While there are still only 5 female historical statues in New York City—and there are still around 145 male historical statues in New York City—that will change soon. The first monument commissioned under the She Built NYC initiative, helmed by First Lady Chirlane McCray, will honor political trailblazer and author Shirley Chisholm, the first woman ever to seek the Democratic Party's nomination for president of the United States, and the first black woman elected to serve in Congress, representing NY's 12th Congressional District from 1969 to 1983. And now, the monument's design and artists have been chosen.
The statue will be installed in Prospect Park (near the Parkside and Ocean Avenue perimeters) in 2020, and today the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) and women.nyc (NYCEDC) announced that artist team Amanda Williams and Olalekan Jeyifous have been selected. Their design, called "Our Destiny, Our Democracy," will "be refined as it proceeds through additional community input and public review," according to today's announcement:
DCLA and Percent for Art will now work with the artists to refine design with input from the Parks Department, which is the sponsor agency, Prospect Park Alliance, and community stakeholders. The proposal will then be presented to local community boards for further comment and review, before being submitted to the City’s Public Design Commission this fall. Up to $1 million will be available for the commissioning of the monument.
"She Built NYC is transforming public art in our City by honoring the contributions of women who helped build and shape it," said McCray, adding that Chisholm’s monument "will be bright, bold, and makes a statement—just like Chisholm herself."
The design was selected out of five proposals, which were unveiled in March of this year, around the same time She Built NYC announced commissions for four other monuments honoring women—here are the other statues coming through that program:
- Billie Holiday, Queens. In her home borough near Queens Borough Hall. Holiday lived in Addisleigh Park and later in Flushing.
- Elizabeth Jennings Graham, Manhattan: In the Vanderbilt Avenue Corridor near Grand Central Terminal.
- Dr. Helen Rodríguez Trías, the Bronx. At St. Mary’s Park.
- Katherine Walker, Staten Island. At the Staten Island Ferry Landing.
There is also a statue featuring Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony coming to Central Park next year, through a different initiative; this will be Central Park's first statue featuring real women.
Tagged
female historical statues
female statues
she built nyc
shirley chisholm
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE arts-entertainment
Immanuel Wilkins is upholding NYC's jazz history. He's also dreaming up its future.
The saxophonist performs this week at the Village Vanguard.
By
Sonia Rao
Published Sep 29, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. ET
Ever wish you could get paid to walk through a stranger’s house? ‘The Scout’ is for you.
A new film focuses on the strange career of a location scout in New York City.
By
Sonia Rao
Arts & Entertainment
Ever wish you could get paid to walk through a stranger’s house? ‘The Scout’ is for you.
A new film focuses on the strange career of a location scout in New York City.
By
Sonia Rao
There are 100s of places to visit during Open House New York. Here's 5 of our favorites.
By
Hannah Frishberg
A massive MTA archive ended up in a Virginia warehouse. A Brooklyn man brought it home.
By
Hannah Frishberg
How a Harry Styles pop-up in the East Village led to a nearby bookstore owner's arrest
By
Sonia Rao
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .