On Thursday, at the corner of Vine and Mill Streets in Lexington, The Breaking the Bronze Ceiling statue is being installed. The 20 foot statue by Arizona artist Barbara Grygutis features five figures of suffragists and commemorates the day women obtained the right to vote.
Kathy Plomin, co-chair of the ‘Breaking the Bronze Ceiling’ project said “This has just been a project of passion because there are very few statues of women across the country so we are one of the few cities that will have this type of tribute. It tells a nice story for young women and girls and boys that women have accomplished a lot in the last hundred years. We may not be there yet but we’re going to get there.”
There will be a formal ceremony on August 18th, which is the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th amendment.
And Wednesday in Frankfort, Lt. Governor Jacqueline Coleman announced that the first monument honoring women would be displayed in Kentucky’s State Capitol next August. The statue will be of Nettie Depp who was a Kentucky teacher, principal and elected school superintendent in 1913, seven years before women earned full voting rights in Kentucky. She advocated for improved education for every student, regardless of gender or race. Coleman called Depp a true visionary in education reform and said “the impact she had on her community is profound and can be felt a century later. May her life serve as a lesson to us all.”
The project has been in the works since 2014. The statue will be unveiled to the public on Women’s Equality Day on August 26th, 2021.