For the First Time, Central Park Will Honor Real-Life Women

New York City officials have revealed that in 2020, Central Park will get its first statues based on real-life women. The honorees are Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, whose statues will mark the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, with which many women won the right to vote.

Though Central Park has a lot of statues of prominent men, all of the sculptures of women in the park currently represent mystical creatures or fictional women—like Mother Goose. The inclusion of two women who are not only real, but played a prominent role in the women’s suffrage movement, will likely draw a lot of praise. 

Yet online, some are already questioning whether Anthony and Stanton are the right pick. The reason has to do with their racial politics and their focus on white women’s suffrage over voting rights for all women.