SF unveils its first public monument honoring a Black woman
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The San Francisco Arts Commission unveiled a monument Thursday at the main public library honoring the prolific writer and poet Maya Angelou.
Why it matters: Created by artist Lava Thomas, the work is the first public monument in the city depicting a Black woman.
Zoom in: The Maya Angelou monument, styled like a book, features a portrait of Angelou drawn by Thomas.
- The structure features the quote "Still I Rise," a reference to one of Angelou's most famous poems.
Between the lines: Angelou attended San Francisco's George Washington High School and is perhaps the city's most famous streetcar conductor.
Flashback: SF passed an ordinance in 2018 requiring at least 30% of public art projects to depict real women.
- In 2020, the representation of real women depicted in public art pieces in San Francisco was just 19%, according to the the city's Department on the Status of Women.
Yes, but: Prior to the completion of the Angelou monument, there were just two publicly owned city statues depicting real women, one of former mayor and current U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein and the other of Florence Nightingale, according to the Department on the Status of Women's 2020 report.
- Meanwhile, San Francisco owns 62 statues or monuments depicting real men.