AUGUST 23: Spinning Tableau at the Monument
1769 SPINNING PROTEST REENACTMENT
JOIN US AND MAKE HISTORY! MAKE THE MONUMENT A REALITY
CELEBRATE BLACK HISTORY MONTh 2022
Show your support for the concept and location of the new monument:
Write a letter to the Select Board, sign the petition, or both! Become part of our history by lending your voice. And we would welcome your financial contribution as well!
SHOW OPEN AT LEXARt THROUGH 2/27
FREE AND NOT A SLAVE:
THE LEGACY OF MARGARET TULIP
Free & Not A Slave: The Legacy of Margaret Tulip is a multi-media installation that invites visitors to engage with historic questions about Black history and women’s history through the lens of the arts. Margaret Tulip was an 18th century Lexingtonian with Black and Indigenous ancestry who lived before, during and after the Battle of Lexington. Learn about Margaret's Freedom Suit at the Zoom reception Sun. 2/6 at 2:00 p.m.
As LexSeeHer works to make women visible, they are collaborating with LexArt and Lexington Historical Society during Black History Month to launch a year-long exploration of Margaret Tulip's life, her community and her legacy. Works on display include “A Dress For Margaret”, the interactive “Tied To Her Apron Strings”, “I, Too, Am A Child”, “Depositions: For And Against”, “Desk Set”, “Silhouettes” and 2021 Women’s Visibility Banners honoring Sylvia Ferrell-Jones, Leona Martin, and Mary Elizabeth Bibb as well as other African American Lexingtonian women.
Partners: LexSeeHer, LexArt, Lexington Historical Society
Register here: Opening Reception Sunday Feb. 6, 2:00 p.m.
Monumental updates!
Winter
Calendar:​​​​​​
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2/5 - 2/27 LexArt Show
Free and Not A Slave: The Legacy of Margaret Tulip
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2/6 Sun. 2:00 LexArt
Co-curators talk on Zoom
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2/10 Tourism Committee Meeting - was cancelled
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New date!
2/16 Speaker Series"Meet Margaret" Register
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2/10 Center Committee Meeting
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Research Team meets Monday evenings
LexSeeHer held a Sculpture Rehearsal with Meredith Bergmann on 11.21.21. The event provided a glimpse of how the proposed monument will be situated. The design is a bronze bas-relief on a granite plaza. Early reactions from comment cards at the event:
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"Lovely design. Inspiring and uplifting."
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"Exciting display. Love the fact we are celebrating women of Lexington! A nice area to sit and rest and reflect."
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"Thank you for making history more complete - and so beautifully! Bravo to all."
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MEREDITH BERGMANN selected by LexSeeHer as designer for new monument
The town of Lexington is one step closer to gaining a monument honoring women’s contributions throughout history. LexSeeHer is pleased to announce our selection of renowned artist Meredith Bergmann for the project.
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“We were inspired by the talented artists who submitted proposals in response to our Call for Artists,” said LexSeeHer Co-Chair Jessie Steigerwald. “Meredith Bergmann distinguished herself by proposing an innovative, inclusive concept that beautifully conveys the many interconnected ways Lexington women have advanced liberty.” A preliminary sketch depicts the design in place in the center of historic Lexington, alongside Massachusetts Avenue and near the following landmarks: Buckman Tavern, the Lexington Battle Green, Cary Memorial Library, the Visitors Center and the Minuteman Bikeway.
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“Meredith’s commitment to social justice and historical redress through sensitively conceived public art is exactly what we are looking for,” commented LexSeeHer Co-Chair Betty Gau. “We are thrilled to work with her on this exciting project for Lexington and women everywhere.”
Why a monument? “As the ‘Birthplace of American Liberty’, Lexington offers a wealth of history about men’s courageous acts,” observed LexSeeHer Finance Team member Michelle Tran.
MarthaLeticia Valencia, co-chair of the Events Team, shared, "Meredith's preliminary sketch depicts many of the women who have contributed to the history of Lexington."
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Amber Iqbal, member of the Nominations Subcommittee, commented, "I love this design and the diversity of the women chosen. Meredith portrays each of the historical women elegantly, showing both their struggles and triumphs." Learn more about the women on our website.
The work recognizes that “liberty” means different things to different people: Freedom from British tyranny, enslavement, and gender norms, for example. And freedom to live our authentic lives and pursue our passions.
The monument covers Lexington history from the years just preceding the Battle of Lexington to 2020. Visit www.MeredithBergmann.com for examples of Ms. Bergmann's work.
From Meredith Bergmann:
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“I’m thrilled— it’s such an honor to have been selected to work with the remarkable women of LexSeeHer on this celebration of the history of the bold women of Lexington. I am grateful that LexSeeHer chose my design, and I look forward to working with the community.”
Photo credit: Michael Bergmann
From Celeste Freeman, LexSeeHer Advisory Board Member
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LexSeeHer advisor and public school educator Celeste Freeman summed up her reaction to Meredith Bergmann’s concept this way: “‘And when I meet Thomas Jefferson, I’ma compel him to include women in the sequel!’ This musical line from Lin Manuel’s Hamilton has been reverberating in my mind when I think of how gates and gatekeepers are often used to keep people out both physically from spaces as well as the pages of what we think of as of known history. One of the exciting aspects of this project is that this gate is actually an invitation—an opening to everyone to visually see a more expansive view of what we think of as settled history. When I think of the role of generations of unsung women like my grandmothers who serve as both guardians and gatekeepers of history, I can’t think of a more meaningful and symbolic way to capture how our founding mothers have shaped our nation. I see it as a portal to the past, present, and future.”
1769 Spinning Tableau: 45 Women bring history to light
LexSeeHer honors the 45 courageous women who defiantly protested unjust British taxation on the colony.
IT'S TIME TO see
women
in Lexington, MA
LexSeeHer is a dedicated group of volunteers in Lexington, MA, who seek to establish the first monument that will depict real women in the Birthplace of American Liberty. The monument will convey the important economic, social, and political impact women have had over more than three centuries. It will also raise questions about what “liberty” and “freedom” have meant to women from the 18th century to the present.
Lexington Historical Society has partnered with LexSeeHer as a fiscal sponsor to help support this important initiative. Donations to the LexSeeHer monument project are held by Lexington Historical Society and overseen by both entities. Lexington Historical Society is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and contributions are tax deductible to the extent provided by law.
LexSeeHer QUILT
Founders Digital Quilt
Making more women visible!
LexSeeHer Teams​​​​
Get involved by emailing lexmonument@gmail.com
All teams welcome new volunteers: Communication Team meets Monday afternoon
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Communication Team
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Research Team
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Events Team
2021 WOMEN's Visibility banners with Troop 66265
Community members responded to our 2020 Open Nomination period and brought forward inspiring women were selected for our Digital Quilt Project and some were selected for street banners.
Please turn the carousel to see all of the banners and visit the Founders Digital Quilt.
Click on a banner to the far right and the wheel will spin.
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LexSeeHer has formally launched our fundraising campaign. We are thankful to the 400+ people who joined as ​Monument Founders. Each gift will make women visible:
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2021 Self-Guided Women's History Trail - Explore "In Her Shoes"
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2021 Visibility Banners in Lexington Center in partnership with Girl Scout Troop 66265
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2023 Permanent monument in Lexington Center to honor women and women's contributions to Lexington & to America
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2023 "Firsts" plaque will memorialize women in Lexington who were the first to serve in a variety of roles as elected officials and leaders
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Ongoing LexSeeHer Speaker Series amplifies the significant accomplishments of women
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Details can be found on our Donors page, and contributions may be made online or by check. Our partnership with Lexington Historical Society launched on Patriots' Day 2021. Lexington Historical Society is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization and contributions are tax deductible to the extent provided by law.
Explore
"IN HEr sHOES"
Enjoy our expanding self-guided tour! Learn more about the women's history hidden in plain site as you discover the wonderful contributions women have made in Lexington. From educational pioneers who attended the Normal School, to abolitionists and suffragists, women's stories are waiting for you!
Updates
February 2022
Known across the globe as the birthplace of American liberty, Lexington residents are coordinating to make visible the many women who have contributed throughout time.
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12/28/21 Commission on Disability voted unanimously in support of the plaza design and siting
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2/7/22 Historic Districts Commission voted 6-2 in support of Certificate of Appropriateness for LexSeeHer monument
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2/10/22 Center Committee voted unanimously in support of proposed monument
Bringing a new monument to the birthplace of american liberty
LexSeeHer preferred monument site.
Tableau Vivant
45 courageous women took part in the
1769 Spinning Bee Tableau
August 31, 2021
See the 2021 Spinning Tableau
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Email: lexmonument@gmail.com
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