A heavily amended bill to place a statue of Harriet Tubman in the Statuary Hall of the U.S. Capitol was passed unanimously on March 28 by the Maryland Senate. “Maryland had a unique opportunity to replace a slaveholder with a slave, a white man with a Black woman, a colonial figure with a Civil War figure,” said Equal Visibility Everywhere (EVE) President Lynette Long in a statement. “They have squandered that opportunity. Instead, they’ve chosen to petition Congress for something they know they won’t get, in a transparent attempt to pass the buck to the federal government.”

The original bill was meant to replace the statue of John Hanson with one of Tubman, as states only get two statues in the crowded hall. The amended bill asks for an exception, allowing Maryland to place a third statue in the hall; an honor not given to any other state thus far.

Opposition of the original bill came from Maryland Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, D.-Dist. 27. Miller told Capital News Service he would like to honor Tubman, but doesn’t want to remove the statue of Hanson, who Miller considers an important figure in the history of the United States, as he served as president of the Continental Congress in 1781.

A book published in 1932, John Hanson: Our First President, gives credence to Miller’s argument, but many historians argue the validity of that. Many say the position was generally a ceremonial one with no real authority.

EVE, the sponsor of the bill, is angry as it believes the state of Maryland is missing out on the opportunity to be trailblazers by having the first African-American woman honored in the Statuary Hall.

“Harriet Tubman, an African-American woman from Maryland, was one of the most courageous and inspiring individuals in our nation’s history,” Long continued. “She was truly one of the all-time great American heroes, one of a handful of names that every schoolchild in this country knows. It is only right that she should be one of the two individuals representing Maryland in National Statuary Hall.”

Bill sponsor Del. Susan Lee, D.-Dist. 16, told the Baltimore Sun that Hanson has “monumental supporters” and that she may have to revisit this issue in 2012.

Read the original article in the Afro-American Newspapers.

ANNAPOLIS — A heavily amended bill to place a statue of Harriet Tubman in Statuary Hall passed the Senate unanimously Monday night, but advocates of the original bill aren’t happy about it.

The amended bill calls for Congress to make an exception so that Maryland can add Tubman as a third statue rather than replacing a statue of Revolution-era Maryland lawmaker John Hanson. Under the original bill the Hanson statue would have been removed from the Capitol and placed in Annapolis.

The bill’s sponsor in the House, Montgomery County Democrat Susan Lee, is unsure of the bill’s fate. She said she’s working with the chairman of the House Health and Government Operations Committee, Baltimore Democrat Peter Hammen, to decide how to pass a bill that is still meaningful, but said they may have to come back to it next year.

There was opposition to removing Hanson in high places in the Senate. Senate President Thomas V. “Mike” Miller Jr. said he would like to honor Tubman without removing the statue of Hanson, who Miller considers a central figure in the beginning of the nation.

In a press release, Equal Visibility Everywhere, a group working to honor more women with statues and other symbols, and a major supporter of the Tubman legislation, said the amendment “effectively guts” the original bill.

“There is absolutely no reason to expect that Congress will make a special exception for Maryland and allow them to have three statues,” said Suzanne Scoggins, Equal Visibility Everywhere’s director of women’s history. “The supporters of the amendment are calling it a ‘compromise,’ but it’s not a compromise. Maryland isn’t going to be allowed to have three statues, and they know it. The effect of the amendment is to kill the Harriet Tubman statue.”

Read the original article in the Delmarva Daily Times.

John Hanson’s spot in the U.S. Capitol is secure, while Harriet Tubman’s chances of securing one are spotty, thanks to a vote this evening by the Maryland Senate.

The General Assembly has been weighing whether to swap out Hanson for Tubman in the National Statuary Hall Collection. Each state can have only two statues, and since 1903, Maryland has been represented by Hanson, a president of the Continental Congress, and Charles Carroll, the only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence.

This session, the National Organization for Women and dozens historical and civil rights groups were trying to gain a place for Tubman, who helped slaves travel to freedom through the Underground Railroad.

Although senators are supportive of Tubman, they won’t trade Hanson for her.

In an amendment adopted Friday, senators decided to ask Congress to allow Maryland three statues so that they won’t have to choose. The new plan gained unanimous final passage this evening.

In addition to providing glowing background information for Hanson, Carroll and Tubman, the amendment reads: “Whereas, It would benefit the nation and visitors to the nation’s Capitol to be made aware of Tubman’s contributions if an exception were made and an additional statue for Maryland were permitted in the National Statuary Hall Collection.”

The Senate says other states have three statues, but that’s not true, according to Eva Malecki, a spokeswoman for the Architect of the Capitol. Although there are other statues in the Capitol, each state can contribute only two historical figures each for the official Statuary Hall collection.

The House of Delegates has yet to vote on the Tubman v. Hanson issue and is waiting for the Senate to send over its bill. Del. Susan Lee, chairwoman of the women’s caucus, said she’ll work even harder next year if Tubman fails to unseat Hanson this session.

The Montgomery County Democrat noted Hanson has “monumental supporters” — including Senate President Thomas. V. Mike Miller, who is bookended by small statues of Hanson and Carroll as he presides over the chamber.

Read the original article in the Baltimore Sun.

Last Thursday a Maryland Senate committee approved an amendment that effectively guts the bill to place a statue of Harriet Tubman in National Statuary Hall.

The original bill (Senate Bill 351) calls for Maryland’s existing statue of John Hanson to be replaced with one of Harriet Tubman. The new amendment almost completely rewrites the bill, asking Congress instead to give Maryland special permission to place three statues, with the Tubman statue as the third addition.

“But we already know the answer to that,” says Suzanne Scoggins of EVE (Equal Visibility Everywhere), which sponsored the original legislation. “The answer is no. Each state is allowed two statues. The rules for Statuary Hall are precise and carefully formulated. There are 100 statues in the collection—two from each state—and the Capitol barely has room for all of them as it is. If you want to change a statue, you bring one home and send the new one in its place. There is absolutely no reason to expect that Congress will make a special exception for Maryland and allow them to have three statues. The supporters of the amendment are calling it a ‘compromise,’ but it’s not a compromise. Maryland isn’t going to be allowed to have three statues, and they know it. The effect of the amendment is to kill the Harriet Tubman statue.”

In an statement, EVE President Lynette Long said:

Maryland had a unique opportunity to replace a slaveholder with a slave, a white man with a Black woman, a colonial figure with a Civil War figure. They have squandered that opportunity. Instead, they’ve chosen to petition Congress for something they know they won’t get, in a transparent attempt to pass the buck to the federal government.

The population of Maryland is 29% African-American and 51% female. Harriet Tubman, an African-American woman from Maryland, was one of the most courageous and inspiring individuals in our nation’s history. She was truly one of the all-time great American heroes, one of a handful of names that every schoolchild in this country knows. It is only right that she should be one of the two individuals representing Maryland in National Statuary Hall. Yet a small group of white male legislators has derailed the entire project.

Leading the opposition is Maryland Senate President Thomas V. “Mike” Miller, Jr., a 68-year-old Democrat who has been a member of the Maryland Senate since 1975. He is joined by two other long-standing Democrats, Senator Thomas “Mac” Middleton (a member of the Senate since 1995 and a relative of John Hanson) and Senator Roy Dyson, also a member of the Senate since 1995.

These gentlemen apparently believe that Maryland is best represented in Statuary Hall by an all-male, all-white contingent. Rather than honor Harriet Tubman, they prefer to keep the statues of Charles Carroll and John Hanson that have been in place since 1903. Charles Carroll was the largest slaveholder in the American colonies, and John Hanson was a minor figure who served a one-year term presiding over the Continental Congress.

What is especially disturbing is that on February 16, 2011, the Southern Maryland News reported Senator Miller as proposing that “a special category should be established in Statuary Hall for women and blacks who were not considered when states first were invited to contribute statues in 1864.” This smacks of separate but equal. It’s a sexist and racist statement that ignores the fact that women and Blacks have made contributions throughout history that have been ignored.

Senator Miller has argued repeatedly that John Hanson deserves to remain in Statuary Hall because he was “the first president of the United States.” This is a popular Maryland legend that has been debunked by historians numerous times. John Hanson served a one-year term as president of the Continental Congress, a parliamentary role with no executive power. A total of fifteen men served as presidents of Congress in the years from 1774 to 1789; John Hanson was ninth in the sequence.

Harriet Tubman would be the first African-American in National Statuary Hall and the tenth woman. There are currently a total of 100 statues in the National Statuary Hall Collection; 91 are of white males.

Most of the statues in the collection date from before 1940, but in 2000 Congress voted to allow states to replace one or both of their existing statues with more up-to-date models. So far three states (Kansas, California, and Alabama) have swapped out their statues. Several more are in the process of doing so: Missouri, Michigan, Arizona, Ohio, and Kansas (again). Last week Iowa joined the club when it voted to replace its statue of Senator James Harlan with one of Norman Borlaug.

EVE is working with the State of Kansas on their new statue, which is to be of Amelia Earhart.

There are a handful of sculptures in the Capitol that are not part of the Statuary Hall Collection, such as the bust of Martin Luther King, but these were commissioned by Congress. They are not the gifts of individual states.

The Harriet Tubman Statue Project was sponsored by EVE in partnership with Maryland NOW, and has been endorsed by Governor Martin O’Malley, Attorney General Douglas Gansler, the Women’s Caucus (Women Legislators of Maryland), the Maryland NAACP, the Maryland Legislative Agenda for Women, and many other organizations.

###

Contact:

Lynette Long, President of EVE
president@equalvisibilityeverywhere.org
(301) 325-6976

Suzanne Scoggins, EVE Director of Women’s History
press@equalvisibilityeverywhere.org
(804) 693-0381

A historical smackdown between Harriet Tubman and John Hanson didn’t quite live up to its billing on the floor of the Maryland Senate on Friday.

A bid to replace one of 100 marble pedestals in the exclusive National Statuary Hall Collection at the U.S. Capitol fell short, with a compromise emerging instead. Bill supporters wanted to replace Hanson, a leading advocate of American independence, with Tubman, the famous abolitionist.

But a far-reaching amendment to the bill was announced on the floor and then adopted with no debate.

Here’s the key language:

“The General Assembly of Maryland respectfully requests that an exception be made to allow the State of Maryland to place a third statue in the National Statuary Hall Collection, in addition to the existing Maryland representatives of John Hanson and Charles Carroll, or for the third statue to otherwise be given great prominence.

“The third statue would be of Harriet Tubman, an African American woman and most notable national hero for her contributions to the history of our country.

“The General Assembly respectfully requests the members of the Maryland congressional delegation to pursue, through the Joint Committee on the Library of Congress, the exception requested under this Act to allow a third statue in Statuary Hall that would recognize the significance of Harriet Tubman in the history of Maryland and the nation.”

The amended bill is likely to get a final vote in the Senate on Monday and then head to the House of Delegates.

Read the original article in the Washington Post.

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory was a sweatshop where hundreds of young women, most of them immigrants, slaved over sewing machines and work tables to make the popular blouses known as shirtwaists. When the fire started the women couldn’t get out, since the sweatshop owner had locked the doors. Fire hoses were too short to reach the highest floors where the fire raged. The trapped employees crowded onto a flimsy fire escape, which then collapsed under the weight. Desperately, with the wall of flames behind them, women started leaping to their deaths. A total of 146 garment workers died that day, most of them young women.

The Triangle fire was a watershed event. Labor laws, the women’s movement, public safety—all were transformed by the disaster.

Cornell University has an excellent resource site about the fire: Remembering the Triangle Factory Fire. It includes a photo archive (with graphic images, so be warned).

The Triangle fire had a galvanizing effect on Frances Perkins, who went on to become the first female Secretary of Labor (and the first female Cabinet member, period). Perkins was the architect of much of the New Deal, including Social Security.

ANNAPOLIS (March 24, 2011) — Supporters of a bill to replace a statue of Maryland legislator John Hanson with a statue of Harriet Tubman in the U.S. Capitol are now looking for a better piece of real estate for the former slave and abolitionist.

The Senate Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee is sending the legislation to the floor of the Senate with amendments to request that the U.S. Congress make an exception to the rule that each state get only two statues in the National Statuary Hall Collection, or to find a suitably prominent location for Tubman.

Hanson’s statue is located in a connecting corridor, which the bill’s advocates say is not easily accessible to the general public.

“I have an objection to putting Harriet Tubman where you can’t see her,” said committee Chair Sen. Joan Carter Conway, a Baltimore Democrat and a sponsor of the bill. “I would prefer her to have a prominent place.”

The debate surrounding the removal of a statue of Hanson, who was the first president of the Continental Congress under the Articles of Confederation in 1781, stirred up impassioned debate in the General Assembly, where Hanson’s descendents have had a presence for generations, including current Sen. Thomas “Mac” Middleton, a Charles County Democrat.

The proposal has been opposed staunchly by Senate President Thomas V. “Mike” Miller Jr. and others who feel Tubman should be honored without moving Hanson.

The only committee member to oppose Thursday’s amendment, Vice-Chair Roy Dyson, D-St. Mary’s, said that Congress would not make an exception for Tubman, but that he would write a letter to Congress as a former member asking that they find a place for Tubman in the Capitol.

“She should be in there for all she has done,” Dyson said.

Linda Mahoney, the president of the Maryland chapter of the National Organization for Women, is also opposed to the amendment.

“It seems to me that this amendment goes back to the idea that we should have a separate and unequal place for women and minorities,” said Mahoney, whose organization has been a driving force behind the legislation. “The point of the legislation was to improve the balance of representation in Statuary Hall.”

Statuary Hall was established in the old House of Representatives chamber in 1864 as a space for each state to commemorate two exemplary citizens. In 1933, Congress passed legislation that allowed for relocation of the statues that were crowding the chamber, sometimes three-deep against the wall, to other spaces throughout the building, according to the website of the Architect of the Capitol.

Congress passed legislation in 2000 that would allow states to replace their representative statues, acknowledging that the original figures may have been eclipsed by the accomplishments of more recent citizens. Some states, including California, Alabama and Kansas have replaced statues or are in the process of doing so.

Maryland is represented by Hanson and Charles Carroll, the only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence. Both statues were installed at the Capitol in 1903.

The unamended bill to switch the statues has support from Gov. Martin O’Malley and groups like the National Organization for Women and the NAACP, as well as the Legislative Black Caucus and the women’s caucus. Thursday’s amendment could create a compromise that will get the bill through the Senate, where Conway expects it to be heard as early as next week.

Read the original article in Southern Maryland Online.

UPDATED: DES MOINES – Sen. James Harlan’s days in the U.S. Capitol are numbered.

The former principal of Iowa City College, president of Iowa Wesleyan University at Mount Pleasant and slavery opponent will be replaced by Iowa native Norman Borlaug.

House Joint Resolution 16, approved 72-12 by the House and 47-1 by the Senate March 22, calls for replacing the statue of Harlan in the U.S. Capitol’s National Statuary Hall Collection with one of Norman Borlaug, winner of the 1970 Nobel Prize grew up near Cresco and went on to a world-wide career in plant breeding and was known as the father of the “green revolution.”

Gov. Terry Branstad will sign the resolution at 4 p.m. March 23 with John Ruan III and Ambassador Kenneth Quinn, chairman and president, respectively, of the World Food Prize, and members of the Iowa congressional delegation on hand.

“This is truly a historic occasion,” Branstad said. “Dr. Borlaug’s legacy in feeding a billion people marks him as one of Iowa’s and America’s greatest heroes. Having his statue in our nation’s capital will ensure that his legacy endures.”

Borlaug’s achievements in plant breeding are credited with saving of as many as a billion lives, which has lead to speculation that he has saved more lives than any other person who has ever lived. Borlaug was the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, a Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the Congressional Gold Medal.

Quinn called the timing of the Legislature’s action fitting as Borlaug’s 97th birthday would be March 25 and the World Food Prize this year celebrates 25 years of recognizing great achievements in science and agriculture. Borlaug founded the World Food Prize Foundation after winning the Nobel peace Prize to bring more attention to those working on scientific advancements in agriculture.

“This is such a marvelous tribute to Dr. Borlaug. I want to express our heartfelt appreciation to the bipartisan leadership of the Iowa Legislature for this action,” Quinn said. “Norm personified Iowa and America, through his hard work and relentless drive to improve the quality of life around the globe, and was one of the first pioneers to take the great learnings of American science beyond our borders. We should all strive to be as dedicated as Norm to advancing humankind.”

Each state may have two statues in the National Statuary Hall Collection. Currently, Iowa has Harlan, who was elected to the Senate as a Free Soiler – a party that opposed the expansion of slavery into western territories. Later, he ran as a Republican.

The other statue is of Samuel Kirkwood of Iowa City, who served two terms as governor and was appointed to fill Harlan’s unexpired term in the Senate.

Both men also served as U.S. Secretary of the Interior.

…

House Majority Leader Linda Upmeyer, R-Garner, noted that the Harlan statue has been in the U.S. Capitol for 101 years and Kirkwood’s for 98.

“So we honor them, we are very pleased to have them there,” she said, “but at this point it is not unreasonable to consider bringing one of them home to join us here at the Iowa State Capitol for continued residence and to place another statue in the United States Capitol.”

House members said they were not aware of any particular reason why they choose to replace the Harlan statue rather than the Kirkwood statue.

Wilhelm said that after reading the biographies of the two men, she thought it was more fitting to keep the Kirkwood statue in the Capitol.

However, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, D-Des Moines, has two members of his caucus looking at whether the Kirkwood statue should be replaced, too, perhaps by a notable Iowa woman.

Lawmakers are interested in moving the Harlan statue to the Iowa Capitol if the National Statuary Hall will release it. They are looking into the costs associated with the move.

Wilhelm understands all funds for a Borlaug statue as well as cost of moving the Harlan statue would be paid with donations, not tax dollars.

The Harlan statue has stood in the U.S. Capitol’s Hall of Statues since 1910. Kirkwood’s statue has been in the National Statuary Hall since 1913.

…

UPDATE: The Iowa House approved the resolution 72-12 March 22.

DES MOINES — Samuel Kirkwood is safe – for now.

Samuel Jordan Kirkwood statue in the National Statuary Hall of the U.S. Capitol. (Photo courtesy of the National Statuary Hall Collection)

However, Civil War-era Sen. James Harlan will lose his spot in the U.S. Capitol if a legislation introduced in the Iowa House is adopted by both chambers of the Iowa Legislature.

House Joint Resolution 16 calls for replacing the statue of Harlan in the U.S. Capitol’s National Statuary Hall Collection with one of Iowa native Norman Borlaug. Borlaug, winner of the 1970 Nobel Prize grew up near Cresco and went on to a world-wide career in plant breeding and was known as the father of the “green revolution.”

Each state may have two statues in the National Statuary Hall Collection. Currently, Iowa has Harlan, who was elected to the Senate as a Free Soiler – a party that opposed the expansion of slavery into western territories. Later, he ran as a Republican. He also served as principal of Iowa City College and president of Iowa Wesleyan University at Mount Pleasant prior to serving in the U.S. Senate. The other statue is of Samuel Kirkwood of Iowa City, who served two terms as governor and was appointed to fill Harlan’s unexpired term in the Senate.

Borlaug’s achievements in plant breeding are credited with saving of as many as a billion lives, which has lead to speculation that he has saved more lives than any other person who has ever lived. Borlaug was the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, a Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the Congressional Gold Medal.

…

House Majority Leader Linda Upmeyer, R-Garner, noted Tuesday that the Harlan statue has been in the U.S. Capitol for 101 years and Kirkwood’s for 98.

“So we honor them, we are very pleased to have them there,” she said, “but at this point it is not unreasonable to consider bringing one of them home to join us here at the Iowa State Capitol for continued residence and to place another statue in the United States Capitol.”

Sen. Mary Jo Wilhelm, D-Cresco, ran a similar resolution last year that was approved by the Senate. However, the House took no action. She plans on running HJR 16.

House members said they were not aware of any particular reason why they choose to replace the Harlan statue rather than the Kirkwood statue.

Wilhelm said that after reading the biographies of the two men, she thought it was more fitting to keep the Kirkwood statue in the Capitol.

However, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, D-Des Moines, has two members of his caucus looking at whether the Kirkwood statue should be replaced, too, perhaps by a notable Iowa woman.

Lawmakers are interested in moving the Harlan statue to the Iowa Capitol if the National Statuary Hall will release it. They are looking into the costs associated with the move.

Wilhelm understands all funds for a Borlaug statue as well as cost of moving the Harlan statue would be paid with donations, not tax dollars.

The Harlan statue has stood in the U.S. Capitol’s Hall of Statues since 1910. Kirkwood’s statue has been in the National Statuary Hall since 1913.

…

Read the full article at Eastern Iowa Government.

Thanks to DC Spotlight and Ms. Thompson for this wonderful piece. Here’s the video portion of the interview included with the article:

Upon entering the spacious home of Dr. Lynette Long in Northwest Washington, D.C., it is difficult to gaze upon the tall ceilings without envisioning the metaphoric glass ceiling women have long complained about. However, it is those massive ceilings that engender empowerment instantaneously. Large posters of powerful and poised women garnish the walls; copies of American art featuring iconic women stare back at onlookers. The room engenders thoughts of endless possibilities, and one can almost feel the magnetic levitation of the upward movement of women through the body of work Long has built over the years. The room emits the sweet aroma of success, momentum and women on the move. The walls whisper the obvious: historical firsts are approaching.

While some boast of supporting women’s causes, Long, a psychologist in practice in Chevy Chase, Maryland, has devoted the majority of her career to championing the upward mobility of women. Her deliberate focus and interest lies in movement and immediacy; she wants to see movement forward today for women. She tirelessly works with her organization EVE (Equal Visibility Everywhere), which she founded in March of 2010 in the District to promote the visibility of women in daily life. Her latest project – among others – involves a bill in the state of Maryland to place a statue of Harriet Tubman in National Statuary Hall in the Capitol Building. As much as Long would like to share the light of the moment with supporters of the bill, this was her “baby”, and like any birth, the project is close to seeing daylight, but is experiencing a few labor pains.

Linda Mahoney, president of Maryland NOW – one of the key sponsors of the bill – confides that passage has reached a roadblock. “Harriet Tubman is facing an uphill battle. John Hanson appears to have many descendants, some of them currently serving in the state legislature,” she says. Mahoney believes they are not likely to consider the bill and resist passage. Yet, Long continues the battle.

She has also set her sights on other projects in an effort to shed light on the accomplishments of women and give young girls the opportunity to learn from and celebrate those achievements. Long speaks specifically of the streets in the District and laments the fact that very few streets bear the names of women. Her latest project – “Ceremonial Street Names” – is a cooperative effort between EVE and city officials to add more names of women to local streets. “Under a street name, they sometimes put another name if someone famous lived on that block,” she notes. “If you go around DC, almost all the street names and the ceremonial street names are of men. So what we’re trying to do is get the mayor’s office to put ceremonial street names where famous women have lived. We’ve researched the names and addresses of well over 100 women who’ve lived in DC, and we’re encouraging the mayor’s office for women’s history month to put up some of these street names for them…Eleanor Roosevelt lived on our street over here. Jackie Kennedy had six houses – the Kennedys – in Georgetown…We have Sojourner Truth…We have Shirley Chisholm and Gloria Steinem’s address. We have Sandra Day O’Connor’s address, the first woman on the Supreme Court… And it took a lot of research to find all of these addresses.”

Long smiles as she takes a moment to think about her final project. She hopes to place more female hot air balloon cartoon characters in parades such as the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Her research on this lack of female faces is stunning in light of the variety of choices of female cartoon and muppet characters available.

“Macy’s Parade started in 1924, which is the largest parade in the country. Over a million people line up to see it in person, but the viewership is approximately 65 million people. Even though the first parade was in 1924. Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, all these balloons up, Superman…The first balloon of a woman wasn’t until 1982 – Olive Oyl – and then they did Betty Boop,” she remembers. “I thought those were not good role models for girls. One is ‘Help, Help’ and the other is ‘Boop Boop Be Doop.’ One is very sexualized…and they were older characters…We look at famous pairs. They have Kermit, but they don’t have Miss Piggy. They have Mickey, but they don’t have Minnie. They have Charlie Brown, but they don’t have Lucy…They have Donald, but they never did have Daisy…There was Superman, but no Wonder Woman…and when I found that I was really sad, because I realized through my whole life as a child, I never looked up and saw one female character, because 1982 was the first female character.”

Long confesses that her projects with EVE are full-time jobs alone, in addition to her day job as a psychologist and writer. Having written twenty books and originated the popular phrase “latchkey kids”, she says the work is its own reward. “These are high visibility projects, and I think that’s where we’re going to get the most reward for our effort.” So far, EVE has one bill on the brink of passage in the state of Kansas, where Amelia Earhart’s statue will be commissioned as soon as the governor puts the final signature on the bill. Long has high hopes for the future of Statuary Hall, which involves an induction of more women. “By 2020, I’d like to have 20,” she says with a sparkle in her eyes. “2020 is the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage, so it would be nice to have 20 women.” So shall it be.

Read the full article in DC Spotlight.