Event Flier: A Feminist Walk Through Harlem: Celebrating Remarkable Women

Sponsors: Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts, Save Harlem Now!

How do we honor black and Latina women? How do we preserve their legacy? 2020 marked the Centennial of Women’s Suffrage, but black women’s contributions to the movement have largely gone uncelebrated, and most black women in America could not vote until 1965.

As the city and the nation confront issues of representation and equity in public commemoration, FRIENDS and Save Harlem Now! partnered to sponsor a virtual walk through Harlem. The tour focused on sites publicly celebrating pioneering black and Latina women, and issues surrounding the preservation of such sites.

Tour guide Leigh Hallingby, of Harlem Walks, explored the neighborhood murals, mosaics, plaques, and other forms of public commemoration honoring such pioneers as Vivian Robinson, Ella Fitzgerald, Madam C.J. Walker, Billie Holiday, Mother Clara Hale, Ruby Dee, Lois Alexander, Mary McLeod Bethune, Julia de Burgos, A’Lelia Walker, Nicholasa Mohr, and Zora Neale Hurston.

Originally presented Monday, October 26, 2021 at 6:00 pm. Watch the full video below: