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Dispatches from Babyville: Finding Space

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My grandmother used to keep her pasta in the dishwasher. Her dishwasher hadn’t worked in decades, and it wasn’t necessary, anyway – she prefers to wash the dishes by hand. But it did take up precious space in her small Bensonhurst apartment. So she decided it would function perfectly as a storage unit for non-perishable goods, like lasagne, tagliatelle, rotini, farfalle, bucatini, penne and orecchiette. 

“Getta me a boxa pasta!” she’d call, and I’d walk over to her defunct dishwasher to select one. 

When you live in a city where one square foot of living space costs hundreds of dollars, you don’t let a broken dishwasher sit empty. You maximize every last inch of usable space, re-purposing and multi-purposing incessantly. Never has that been more true than during the past year and a half, when we were all in and out of shutdowns and quarantines, stuck at home. 

Last August, as our first Covid summer came to a close and my three kids faced a new year of school which we knew would be at least partially remote, I decided we needed to free up space in our apartment. If I made space, we could set up three schoolwork areas, and if I set up three schoolwork areas, we could have an orderly, productive remote school experience.

Let’s set aside the fact that I was delusional in believing any remote school could be productive or orderly. After all, hindsight’s 20/20. 

I started with an innovative brainwave: I’d make my youngest daughter’s bed into a loft, so we could put her dressers underneath it, thus liberating valuable square feet in the shared bedroom. This loft-bed project brought me to Ikea. Me and everyone else in the tri-state area. 

I selected a large quantity of home accessories I did not need, immediately undoing the de-cluttering I had undertaken the week prior. I loaded up on cinnamon rolls and Swedish meatballs and lingonberry soda. Then I headed to the warehouse shelves which were supposed to hold the dresser I’d selected to go in the loft area. When I found the shelves bare, I waited on a serpentine line to ask a women in customer service where I could find them. 

“You can’t,” she said. “We’re sold out.”


“What about in another color? Or at another Ikea?” I asked. 

That’s when she explained that it wasn’t just the Brooklyn Ikea that was sold out but every Ikea in the Eastern Seaboard. 

“The whole Eastern Seaboard?” I repeated. It was a strange expression to use at Ikea’s customer service desk. 

“Yep,” she replied. “Everybody’s fixing up their houses before school starts.”

Looks like I was not alone in my quest to make everything that was wrong in the world right with some light redecorating. 

The loft-bed was only the first of my home improvement projects. Freeing up those precious few square feet whetted my appetite for “finding” more space. This is a misleading term. It’s not as if extra space was hiding somewhere, like there was a trick wall that, when pushed on at the exact right spot, revealed a secret room. Still, I believed that if I planned thoughtfully enough, arranged furniture carefully enough, I’d make the little space we had go much farther. 

The challenge — a challenge shared by everyone — was that my apartment, which used to be just a home, now had to serve so many other functions. It was an elementary school, and also a middle school and a high school, too. It was an office for my husband and I, and a conference room. It was a gym. A music studio where my 14-year-old took piano lessons. A dance studio where my 9-year-old took ballet. An art studio where my 16-year-old learned how to use pastels and acrylics. It was an exam room for practice SATs. A vocal rehearsal space for high school audition tapes. It was a therapy office. 

No home can serve that many functions, and definitely not one that covers less than 1300 square feet. 

Still, I tried, the way we all did. What choice did we have? 

I maximized the use of our tiny balcony which Pre-Covid had never been used, because it overlooks Fourth Avenue and is loud, polluted and generally grimy. Now, the balcony functioned as a gym, housing the budget stationary bike my husband bought in the early days of Covid, when even bike riding seemed too dangerous. By happenstance one day, my 9-year-old discovered zoom school was much more tolerable when she did it while pedaling. Then the balcony because a gym/ classroom. Multi-purposing at its finest. 

The bathroom became an animal sanctuary, with two hamster cages stashed in the bathtub. 

“I need to take a bath,” my daughter whined one night. 

“Forget it,” I told her. “That’s the hamsters’ real estate.”

Another night, my teenage daughter complained there was no room quiet enough to record the original song she’d written on guitar. 

“Go play in my closet,” I told her, as if it was obvious. “The clothing will be a good buffer.”

And she did. Thus began the “Closet Concert” series.

Coordinating remote school was more difficult. When not riding the bike on the balcony, my little one preferred to do zoom school from the living room, which was where my older daughter liked to work too, So much for the special work stations I’d taken pains to establish in August. Most mornings, they’d get set up in the living room, which is also the kitchen, which is also my office, and so, while working, I’d be treated to a lecture on mitosis while simultaneously learning about the establishment of New Amsterdam while listening to my husband grind coffee. 

“Dad, stop!” the girls shouted in stereo. “We’re at SCHOOL!” 

“Where am I supposed to grind coffee?” he asked. 

“The balcony!” I replied, exasperated. “That’s where all grinding, blending and hair drying happens during school hours. When it’s not being used as a gym.” 

One night in late autumn, I was sitting on the couch surveying my living room, which had become impassable. The keyboard and chair blocked egress to the balcony. The exercise bike, dragged inside to avoid rain, blocked egress to the bathroom. You couldn’t sit at the dining room table because there wasn’t space enough to pull the chairs out, what with the desk I’d wedged in there for my husband and the lamp. 

“I wish we could put furniture on the ceiling,” I said wistfully to David. “Is that — are we sure that’s impossible?” 

“You are getting carried away,” he said. It’s not the first time he’s said this to me.

“The problem is there’s not enough space in this house!” I exclaimed. 

“The problem is a deadly pandemic is ravaging our world,” he said. 

He was, of course, right. 

There was nothing I could do about the complex, maddening, terrifying problem of Covid, so I focused with a deranged zeal on a problem that could be fixed. Except that solving one did not solve the other.

“No matter how inventive I was with my storage, or how many functions I could eek out of one toilet bowl (desk chair! salon chair! toilet!), it didn’t change the despair I felt every day over what my kids were missing, and I was missing, which was nothing compared to what so many had lost, and continued to lose. “

Then, in November, just after I’d maximized every nook and cranny of the apartment, I decided to add something entirely different to the house. The puppy who is now a member of our family is small but takes up plenty of square footage, racing around our small home at a breakneck pace, strewing his toys and chewys everywhere, dragging garbage across the floor, wreaking havoc. His crate and beds and gates and food bowls have made me admit defeat in the battle against clutter. Our house is absolutely overbrimming with stuff. But it is also overbrimming with delight. We can’t look at the pup without cracking a smile, or dissolving into coos, or squealing with laughter. He makes the house messy, and immeasurably happy. 

I couldn’t find any more space within the confines of the apartment, but I found plenty of breathing room in the expansive joy the puppy brought with him. 

Thrift 2 Death: Two Weekend Pop-Up Event Happening at Slope Vintage

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For the next 2 Saturdays, Thrift2Death will be hosting their End of Summer Pop-Up Event. Visit Slope Vintage on 5th Ave for amazing vendors with one-of-a-kind vintage clothes, fantastic thrift finds, and fresh streetwear. Treysaun McGeachy and his cofounder Christain Neils are hosting the free event on August 21st and 28th from 1 PM to 7 PM at Slope Vintage. 

“I’m excited for all of them really,” Treysaun says enthusiastically about the weekend’s vendors.

There will be a variety of vendors at the pop-up from vintage curators, custom clothing, graphic tees, and accessories. You’ll be able to meet the creators of new independent brands, those who are making one-of-one pieces and reworked fashion. They’ll also have handmade jewelry, bags, and crystal sellers. All the brands put an emphasis on creating sustainable fashion options; bringing a second life to clothes while remaining stylish and trendy. Thrift2Death also guarantees quality products at affordable prices for everyone, shopping options ranging from $10 to $200. And rest assured all the artists, designers, and curators will be bringing out their best pieces for the weekend event!

Visitors are welcome to come and go as they please. There will be drinks, food, and music. Of course, Slope Vintage will also be open with some great summer sales. And you’ll even have the chance to enter the giveaways for a Thrift2Death tote bag.

Treysaun McGeachy

Trey and Christain’s mission with Thrift2Death is to connect the next generations of buyers and sellers at fashion events. As many small brands and clothing curators continue to emerge, they saw that these young business owners needed a physical place to connect with their customers directly. And then had the idea for a pop-up shop event that would not only allow business owners a place to sell but the ability to meet other creators in a positive collective space.

Christain Neils

Trey, a 23-year-old recent graduate from Manhattan College, gained his following through TikTok as he began making thrift store review videos. He would showcase the best thrift and second-hand vintage stores in New York. He then began working at Slope Vintage and taking over their social media. The owner helped make Trey’s idea possible by allowing him to host Thrift2Death’s first event outside the store in July. With the combination of 5th Avenue street closure, increased foot traffic, and top-tier vendors the event was a huge success.

“It gave me a lot of confidence in our idea. It made me believe we could do this more and more,” says Trey. They were able to target their key audiences of Gen Z and Millenial shoppers, bringing a good profit and new followers for the businesses and brands, and learned how to make the next event even better.

Trey believes that Park Slope is a somewhat untapped neighborhood for young people. While everyone tends to go to the trendy areas of Williamsburg, Bushwick, and the Lower East Side; he sees Park Slope 5th Ave as a centralized location in Brooklyn that is easy for people to connect to all around New York. He hopes with the success of Thrift2Death more business and storefront owners in Park Slope will begin to see the potential in connecting and serving the next generation of brand owners and their customers. That young people have successful ideas, achievable ambitions, and have money to spend.

In the future, Trey and Christian plan to make Thrift2Death greater, with new vendors, larger spaces, and collaborating with more stores and venue spaces. They would even like to expand outside of NYC, hosting events in other cities like Philadelphia and Los Angeles.

You can follow Trift2Death on Instagram for more updates and previews on the vendors this weekend. We will see you at the End of Summer Pop-Up on August 21sh and 28th! 

You Can Call Me Coach

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Frances Perkins was the first woman appointed to the cabinet of a US President. In 1933, Franklin Delano Roosevelt appointed Francis Perkins as the Secretary of Labor during the Great Depression. Perkins ushered in massive social reforms, leading the legislative efforts to institute Old Age, Survivors, Disability Insurance (aka “Social Security”), unemployment compensation, and workers compensation. 

The first of her kind, the press was confused about what to call her other than “Secretary Perkins”. The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Henry Thomas Rainey (D-Ill), was called upon to clarify the appropriate honorific to use. 

“When the Secretary of Labor is a lady, she should be addressed with the same general formalities as a secretary who was a gentleman. You call him Mr. Secretary. You will call her Madam Secretary.”

It’s not hard to show respect for women who take on roles that have long been held by men. Most times, you can simply call the woman by the same exact title as a man in the same position, like “Doctor” or “Vice President”. But for some people, finding a way to refer to women in positions that have been long dominated by men seems really difficult. This holds true on the baseball fields of Brooklyn.

In the depths of the Great Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Perkins as secretary of labor. Against overwhelming odds, she became the driving force behind Social Security, the 40-hour workweek, the eight‐hour workday, minimum wage, and unemployment compensation.

In the spring of 2010, I took to the artificial turf fields at the Dean Street Playground, near what would become the Barclays Center, as the head coach of the SFX Youthsports T-Ball team, the “Beetles”. My three year-old son, Jack, was excited to put on a uniform and enjoy the game that he saw his older cousins playing every spring. There was never a question about who would coach his team. It would be me.

For the five years before our first T-ball season, I served as an assistant coach to my nephews’ SFX recreational baseball teams, led by my brother-in-law, Coach John. In the spring of 2007, you could find me, visibly pregnant with Jack, coaching the runners at first base.  For the first two springs of Jack’s life, a few times a week, he watched his uncle and his mom lead his nephews in practices in Prospect Park, and games all around Brooklyn. His Auntie Kristin, his Nana Sue, and his Daddy would keep an eye on Jack on the sidelines while John and I were busy on the field. I enjoyed my first Mother’s Day at the Parade Grounds, where Coach John helped coordinate coffee and donuts to celebrate the moms, like me, who made it to the game that morning. 

For five years I was taking mental and physical notes about the kind of head coach I wanted to be when it was my turn. First and foremost, I wanted to instill a love of the game in my players. Just like John, it was important to me that the players knew the rules so they could understand the beauty of baseball. There was never a doubt in my mind that if the player could see how intertwined the physical and the psychological parts of the game were, that they would essentially find the spirituality of baseball, and fall in love. 

Of course, this education had to be provided in an age-appropriate manner. Would you try to teach three and four-year-olds how to work a count for their own benefit and the batters behind them? Since there was no pitching in t-ball, such would be unnecessary, but also developmentally impossible. A success to be found in at-ball game was when a player would drop their bat before running, or more importantly, running to first base, instead of third. I’m still interested in the choice made by the baseball founders requiring baserunners to run counter-clockwise around the bases, instead of clockwise.  I guess most three and four-year-olds feel the same way. 

That first year as a head coach for the Beetles I didn’t feel out of place as a woman on the field. There were a few women leading t-ball teams that year, though we were definitely not close to a majority. There were also moms serving as assistant coaches, and moms helping coordinate the line-ups. There were moms helping with after-game snacks. Moms were everywhere. As the years went on, and the players got older, most moms moved back, away from the field, to enjoy their children’s participation on the field as a spectator. But not me. I was still there in the middle of the action, where I wanted to be. 

After years of watching John, I was eager to coordinate my own team’s defense and offense. I was preparing pre-game and post-game team talks as I fell asleep at night. I got the butterflies every game day, out of excited energy. 

This is 2012. That’s me sitting at first base. I generally coached from down there. 1) that way parents on the sidelines wouldn’t be obstructed by me. 2) I was at kid level, and 3) my adrenaline was so high I would shake… but, in this picture, you can also see 2 coaches/Dad’s from the other team behind me…

As we moved past the t-ball stage, and into Prospect Park as the kids turned five, my uniqueness as a female coach became more obvious. There were practically no other women wearing the collared SFX head coach shirt with the color-coordinated baseball cap that I wore each game with great pride. I guess my rarity as a female head coach helps explain why many fellow head coaches, men wearing the same collared shirt and hat as I, would literally miss my physical existence as we prepared for game time. Time and time again the opposing coach would walk up to a father on my team, not wearing a coach’s shirt or cap, to clarify which team was batting first, or what time our game would start. Time and time again the dads on my team would put their hands up and say something like, “oh, no. I’m not a coach. You have to talk to Coach Kathryn. She’s over there.” And there I was, wearing a matching outfit, setting up the field; putting the bases down, measuring the base paths with my retractable measuring tape. I thought I was ultra-visible in my uniqueness, but on those occasions I was invisible; the opposing coaches didn’t even know to look for me, though I was clearly there.

Not being seen is hard to take, but being seen and not respected is more difficult to swallow. A few glaring examples over the past decade come to mind. There was the father of a 5-year-old player on the opposing team who left his spot on the sidelines to tower over me, incensed that I was insisting an umpire apply the appropriate rules to his son’s at-bat. His voice raised, he kept referring to me as “ma’am” at the end of each of his sentences, but the inflection of his tone made it clear that he was not using it as a term of respect, but a reminder that I was the only woman on the field. 

Then there is the use of “lady”. At least with “ma’am” the speaker can feign respect; when a man calls a woman “lady”, as in “what’s your problem, lady?”, it is quite clear that no civility is intended.  I get “what’s your problem, lady?” at least once a year. Most often it comes from the sidelines, uttered by frustrated dads who seem to have trouble accepting their son will lose to a team coached by a woman. Sometimes it comes from opposing coaches, usually when I’ve caught them trying to skip past their weaker batters in the line-up when the score is really close. When Jack was nine, there was the middle-aged umpire, frustrated, and likely embarrassed, with my correcting him and our opposing coach on the rules of our level of play. As I turned away from our meeting behind home plate to return to my team’s dugout, he muttered within earshot, “whatever, lady”.

There is absolutely no reason to use the terms “ma’am” or “lady” on the baseball field. There is one term, and one term alone that should be used to refer to me, or any other woman leading their team on the baseball field, or any other sports field for that matter. You can call me “Coach”.

Dispatches from Babyville: Stop and Smell the Flowers

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Artwork by Heather Heckel

I have never been the kind of person who knows the names of flowers. I couldn’t tell a hydrangea from a hyacinth if my life depended on it. My main interest in flowers has been in their utility as metaphors. Until the pandemic.

Now, very much to my surprise, I find that I am interested in things that bloom. When I spot a flower, I have the urge to identify it, learn its name, admire its colors and contours. More than anything, I like to stop and smell the flowers. Literally. Incessantly. I have trespassed in people’s front yards to get a sniff. I have stopped sidewalk traffic. 

When, I ask you, did the flowers of Brooklyn get so resplendent?

Have you smelled a lilac lately? I mean, deeply drank in its aroma? I can’t recommend it enough. It will renew you.”

I’m not the only one who’s noticed. At the start of spring, my Facebook feed was flooded with flower posts. In lieu of their children’s faces, my friends marveled at the loveliness of lilies, daffodils and, most notably, tulips. 

Oh, the tulips. 

We — hardened, jaded, New-York-tough city dwellers — lost our minds over the tulips this year.

I lack the poet’s tongue to wax sufficiently rhapsodic over flowers. I’m no Longfellow. But back in March, I was walking my 9-year-old to school in the morning, down the same street we always walk down, past the grays and browns and blacks that make up a sidewalk landscape, and suddenly, there was a burst of yellow. Bold. Brillant. Defiant. Three or four sunshine tulips, in a tree bed, their petals beginning to flare. 

The tulips were impossible to ignore. You simply could not walk past them. 

“Good morning!” they greeted us. 

“Have a wonderful day at school!” they cried.

“If the last few months of this apocalyptic winter of our discontent have left you despairing and contemplating the possibility that all joy and beauty and hope have been extinguished,” they said. “Despair no longer! For we, tulips, have nevertheless persisted! Joy and hope and beauty have persisted! You, too, have persisted! So, crack a smile!” 

They were loquacious suckers.

At first, it was just a few tulips here and there, peppering the neighborhood. But every day, they proliferated. Soon, their lovely, vibrant heads – orange, yellow, red– were popping out of the earth in every front yard, every tree bed, every planter. 

My favorite were the two-toned tulips, with stunning magenta petals, edged in yellow. They looked like sunsets. I defy you to walk down a quiet Park Slope side street on a sunny afternoon, encounter a sunset tulip and not be suffused with the exquisite glory of living.

I have become a flower lover. It is an unlikely turn of events. What can I say? Life is surprising. 

To celebrate my anniversary in April, my husband and I spent an afternoon at the Met, which marked our joyful return to museum-going. Crossing Park Avenue on our way home, I found myself approaching a congregation of tulips the likes of which I’d never known. In fact, this is untrue. I’d seen these tulips every year, because they are always there, on the island separating the northbound traffic of Park from the southbound. But this year, they stopped me in my tracks. 

An unimaginable abundance of tulips — hundreds of them — lined up in neat rows, like little soldiers of good cheer, waving in the breeze. 

“Oh my God,” I said to my husband. “They’re magnificent.” 

“I know,” he agreed. 

I turned to him and snorted. “And people said New York was dead.” Only I didn’t use the word “people.” I used a noun not suitable for print, an expletive almost as colorful as the tulips. 

It takes a dark, cold winter to appreciate the spring. And the winter that just passed – it was a doozie. It was so unremitting in its bleakness that more than once, strangers confessed to me their inability to bear it all while waiting for elevators and for the light to change and on line in bodegas. After all of that fear and despair and the barren, terrible cold, finally there was light and new life and color and hope. Finally there were tulips. 

As spring blooms to summer, the tulips have cast their petals to the ground, but there are other flowers appearing. Already, the lilacs are blooming. 

Have you smelled a lilac lately? I mean, deeply drank in its aroma? I can’t recommend it enough. It will renew you. 

But you don’t have to take it from me. Listen to Walt Whitman, father of free verse, the quintessential Brooklyn poet. This is from “When lilacs last in the dooryard bloom’d,” a poem which is about loss and beauty and continuing on:

“In the dooryard fronting an old farm-house near the white-wash’d palings,

Stands the lilac-bush tall-growing with heart-shaped leaves of rich green,

With many a pointed blossom rising delicate, with the perfume strong I love,

With every leaf a miracle—and from this bush in the dooryard,

With delicate-color’d blossoms and heart-shaped leaves of rich green,

A sprig with its flower I break.”

Every leaf a miracle. 

Indeed.

Pride in Park Slope

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There’s something special about celebrating Pride in NYC – the history, the grassroots movements, the fabulous festivities! 

Equality means more than passing laws. The struggle is really won in the hearts and minds of the community, where it really counts.”

Barbara Gittings, American LGBTQ Activist

The Stonewall Rebellion at the landmark Christopher Street Inn on June 28th, 1969 gave fuel to the fire of LGBTQ+ liberation for years to come. We remember historic New York trailblazers from Marsha P Johnson and Slyvia Rivera, who together founded the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries,  to self-described “Black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet” Audre Lorde, to artistic advocate and activist Keith Haring, to so many more who paved the way for leaders today. 

While together we have accomplished so much, there is still work to be done. Being part of Pride events throughout this month give us the opportunity to be activists, advocates, and allies. To celebrate and better what makes our community historic, rebellious, diverse, and full of joy. 

Here are some neighborhood Pride events going on throughout the month. Whether you’ll be attending, volunteering, or donating we encourage you to check out and get involved with the amazing organizations that continue to work throughout the year to support the LGBTQ+ community here in Brooklyn.

Brooklyn Pride Kick Off Party 

June 7th, Monday 5:00-8:00 at Out of the Closet

AIDS Healthcare Foundation and Brooklyn Pride are throwing a rooftop cocktail party to kick-off Pride week! Hosted at Out of the Closet Thrift Brooklyn, where 96 cents of every dollar directly funds AHF’s programs, their housing services, and on-site pharmacies and free HIV testing. Drink, mix, and mingle supporting a great cause! More Information

Brooklyn Pride 5K Run/Walk

June 12th, Saturday 10:00-12:00 at Prospect Park 

This is the 25th Annual Brooklyn Pride LGBTQIA+ 5K partnered with Maimonides Medical Center and Front Runners New York. Register for the race or donate to earn your t-shirt and swag. Then Saturday morning join the race or show up to cheer on the runners. Let’s go! More Information

Pride Mini-Street Festival 

June 12, Saturday 12:00-5:30 at Old Stone House 

After the 5K, the party continues to everyone’s favorite Old Stone House in Washington Park. Vendors and organizations will be set up, plus music for everyone – rock, hip-hop, and even some Drag Performances! Support local businesses, artists, and mutual aid groups. More Information

Drag Queen Story Hour

June 15 & 23 (Virtual), 18 (Walt Whitman Library), 24 (Dumbo Archway)

Drag Queen Story Hour is a wonderfully fun time for kids to imagine, learn, and make new friends. Partnered with Brooklyn Public Libary, there are virtual and in-person storytimes for ages 3 to 8. Kids can enjoy songs and stories read by a glamorous queen while learning about gender fluidity and self-expression. More Information, Follow On Instagram for Live Events

Drag Queen’s Makeup Tutorial Hour

June 16, Wednesday 3:30-4:30 (Virtual)

Tune in to the live stream on the Drag Queen Story Hour NYC Instagram page for a makeup tutorial from Cholula Lemon. Kids and teens of all genders and makeup experience levels will get something out of this workshop. You can follow along to learn new techniques and tips for fabulous eye makeup looks! More Information, Follow on Instagram for Virtual Live Event

Ice Cream Social Celebrating Pride Month 

June 17th, Thursday 6:30-8:00 at Prospect Park 

There’s no better way to celebrate in summer than with ice cream! Join the METRO New York Library Council Uncle Louie G’s then head over to Prospect Park for an ice-cream social. An evening of sweet treats and even sweeter friends! More Information

Brooklyn Community Pride Center 

Self Care, STD Testing, Support Programs, and More Donate Now 

Throughout Pride Month and every month, Brooklyn Community Pride Center hosts a vast arrange of events, from self-care days, meditation and yoga classes, support groups, and game nights. On Wednesdays, they partner with Brooklyn G.H.O.S.T. Project to distribute food, clothes, and other resources to Trans and Gender Non-Conforming community members. On Thursdays, they provide Free HIV testing and safe sex kits. All programs can be found on their calendar and you can visit their website for more information on how to get involved and donate. Brooklyn Community Pride Events, Brooklyn Ghost Project

Additional Resources:

Doug Schneider: On Rebuilding & Reform

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Meet the Civil Rights Attorney and Democratic Community Leader Running to Represent Brooklyn’s 39th District 

“When people see politicians with children, they often assume that the children are being used as props. For me, bringing them to work is a necessity and a reality,” said Doug Schneider, over the phone. He regularly brings his children to work, including in the political arena. His seven-and-a-half-year-old son is a 1st grader at PS 107; his daughter is four. Schneider is transparent about the challenges of being a politician and equal caregiver; and, after a year of overseeing remote learning for his son, among countless other pandemic-related complications, he makes a strong case for normalizing children in the workplace— including on the campaign trail.  

In the fall of 2020, Doug Schneider, a civil and criminal defense litigator and Democratic District Leader for the 44th Assembly District, announced his candidacy to represent City Council District 39 in the upcoming Democratic primary election. District 39 includes Park Slope, Gowanus, Carroll Gardens, Columbia Waterfront, Cobble Hill, Windsor Terrace, and portions of Borough Park and Kensington. Schneider joined the primary for term-limited Councilman Brad Lander’s seat, while Lander himself is in the running for City Comptroller. Recently, Schneider’s campaign received the endorsements of 39 community leaders, including support from other District Leaders, PTA leaders, climate activists, worker’s rights advocates, and activists for transportation and street safety. 

“As we face a post-pandemic recovery, we need experienced leaders with a proven record of results,” Community Leader, Dorothy Siegel, told Bklyner in a statement. Siegel is the founder of ASD Nest, a community-focused program that specializes in serving the needs of children living with an autism spectrum disorder. Siegel is right— City Council needs an experienced leader with both a history of community leadership and an agenda to ensure a full economic recovery. 

In addition to historic economic fallout, the novel coronavirus pandemic exposed some of our nation’s deepest inequalities. In New York City, once the center of the global outbreak, many low-paid workers were forced to continue working in unsafe conditions, without proper PPE or adequate salary. When schools shuttered, women disproportionately left their careers to become full-time caregivers, and now struggle to reclaim footing in the job market. Those from historically underserved communities have experienced the highest rates of eviction, viral infection, and death. For these reasons and more, Schneider is committed to not only rebuilding District 39 but also plans to address the longstanding discrimination that has hindered minority communities. 

The focus of Schneider’s campaign platform is: 1) Transportation and Street Safety, including reimagined sidewalks and bike lanes, accessible public transportation, and the expansion of traffic safety enforcement and speed cameras; 2) Economic Recovery for small businesses, women and working parents, and out-of-work New Yorkers; 3) Education, including updated school infrastructure, expanded after-school programs, a pandemic-response taskforce, and substantial investments in higher education; and 4) Constituent Services, providing a broad range of services to constituents, including information on government programs and affordable housing resources, and an expansion of language access at the polls.  

Schneider’s ties to Brooklyn—and more specifically, to Park Slope— predate his plans to run for City Council. Though his parents are both from Brooklyn, Schneider and his siblings were raised in New Jersey. After graduating from law school and marrying his wife Joni, the couple decided to settle in South Slope, where they have resided for almost 15 years. Around the time of the 2016 presidential election, Schneider began to consider his run for City Council, as he did not like where the Trump Administration was leading the country. 

“I always had an interest in politics but never saw myself as someone who could get elected,” said Schneider. His involvement in volunteering for political campaigns goes back to 1999. After graduating from college, he worked as a congressional aid before attending law school. In recent years, he has served as a Trustee to the Park Slope Civic Council and has previously held a seat on the District Committee for Brad Lander’s participatory budget initiative.

“I saw where things were headed and I didn’t like where they were going. I began to think that I could make a difference,” Schneider said. He thought about the leading issues of the Brooklyn Democratic Party and the need for greater transparency. “I decided to run on issues that were at the forefront because they matched with the things that I have always been passionate about,” he told me. Schneider then shared his lived experiences as a small business owner, attorney, and activist. 

Schneider’s law practice focuses on civil and criminal cases, including employment discrimination and business litigation, and occasionally, pro-bono representation for street safety activists. He has worked with clients on cases related to employment discrimination, including a technician who was fired for a disability and a personal assistant who was wrongfully fired for being pregnant while she was on approved maternity leave. Schneider has also represented individuals charged with state and federal crimes, in addition to individuals under investigation by the federal government and the State of New York. 

As an experienced attorney and fierce advocate for civil rights issues and criminal justice reform, Schneider is also committed to bringing police reform to City Council by passing legislation to hold officers accountable for misconduct, and reallocating resources to invest in underserved communities. 

In July of 2020, after months of school closures across the country, Schneider organized a DOE town hall meeting to discuss NYC’s re-opening plans and devised strategies for creating long-term solutions to safely re-open schools. Subsequently, Schneider organized a protest outside of City Hall in November, demanding that New York City schools stay open. Despite the city’s increasing positive test rate for COVID-19, the positive test rate in schools was under 1%. 

“There was a path to doing this effectively, but the plan to fully re-open schools couldn’t be waiting until COVID completely disappeared,” Schneider told me. “We knew that we would eventually get to a point like today, where we are vaccinated, but we had to act before then.” He explained the lag in long-term planning and its negative effect on the mental and emotional health of students.  

In addition to the implementation of the Pandemic Response Emergency Plan (PREP), Schneider’s multi-step solution to long-term pandemic planning, he also plans to expand after-school programs, restore arts curriculum, and address the longstanding racial divides within New York City’s school system. Schneider has pledged to end the school-to-prison pipeline by replacing law enforcement with social workers and mental health professionals.

I asked Schneider how he and his family were managing to recover after a year of such intense devastation. 

Quietly, I wondered how a politician like Doug Schneider—with his extraordinary record of experienced leadership and Herculean efforts to rebuild his community— was able to hold down a day job AND be an equal caregiver. His answer was remarkably, human. He told me that his family survived in 2020. They continued to persist one day at a time— albeit still adjusting and still making mistakes, like “too much screen-time on some days.”

“We have to forgive ourselves for our mistakes made during the pandemic that allowed us to get by,” he told me. “New Yorkers are resilient and communal […] and we all did what we had to do to survive.” 

Art and the City: Public Art Unveils Controversy in the City

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Giancarlo Biagi & Jill Burkee-Biagi, Mother Cabrini Memorial (2020), bronze.
Image courtesy of the Office of Governor Andrew Cuomo.

To most, public art may seem innocuous. Art brings vitality to public spaces. It helps districts establish identities, provides artists with income, and boosts local economies by providing sought-after destinations for art lovers. And perhaps more importantly, public art provides an opportune backdrop for tourists and selfie enthusiasts. However, for New Yorkers who are especially inundated with public artworks ranging from historical tablets and monuments in public parks to contemporary works, like Jeff Koon’s colossal Balloon Flower and Jenny Holzer’s impermanent text-based projections, the relationship between the public and art is not always positive.

Public art is rarely considered by art critics to be “good” art. Seldom does it arrive without a myriad of complications. Aside from often being overly symbolic or kitsch, public art is largely taxpayer-funded, governed by private capital, and decided on by a panel of bureaucrats. 

In 2020, the city planned, commissioned, and installed dozens of public sculptures, installations, murals, and artworks. Below are three of the most recent public sculptures to be unveiled, all of which were met with varying degrees of controversy.

Mother Cabrini Memorial 

Giancarlo Biagi & Jill Burkee-Biagi (2020) 

A bronze and granite memorial honoring the life and service of St. Francis Xavier Cabrini, the Patron Saint of Immigrants, was recently erected in Manhattan’s Battery Park City. Cabrini, more commonly referred to as Mother Cabrini, an Italian immigrant and devoted public servant, founded over 60 schools, orphanages, and hospitals, including numerous academic and health care institutions in New York City. She was the first naturalized American to be canonized by the Roman Catholic Church, nearly three decades after her death. Although Cabrini’s legacy parallels the valor and perseverance of many immigrant communities, the memorial was heavily disputed by the public and follows a contentious stint of bureaucratic conflict between New York’s city and state governments. 

“We are all immigrants in one way or another. We all share the immigrant experience,” said Italian-American artist, Giancarlo Biagi in an interview.

Biagi and collaborator, Jill Burkee-Biagi, were selected by the Governor Cuomo-appointed commission to complete the Cabrini memorial—budgeted at $750,000— in a remarkable nine months. The life-size bronze monument atop a marble base depicts a young Cabrini and two small children in a paper boat, gazing ahead into a distant future. It stands erect in a cove along the esplanade and against a backdrop of Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. The commemorative memorial is filled with metaphor, perpetuating collective immigrant experiences of hope and new horizons, while also containing small anecdotes of Cabrini’s mortality. The plaza is surrounded by mosaic, created from bits of riverbed stone near Cabrini’s birthplace in Sant’Angelo Lodigiano. The memorial was unveiled on Columbus Day and dedicated by the New York Governor. 

The controversy of the Cabrini memorial—as with most memorials—lies within the boundaries of taxpayer-funded public art, the site-specificity of the artwork, and how the overall content and design are determined. In 2018, First Lady Chirlane McCray, Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen, and the Department of Cultural Affairs announced the She Built NYC initiative, a project focused on funding public monuments and artworks to honor women’s history. The initiative builds on the recommendations of the Mayoral Advisory Commission on City Art, Monuments, and Markers— a commission that advises the NYC Mayor on issues surrounding public artworks and markers on City-owned property. An advisory panel, appointed by the de Blasio Administration, was founded to oversee the commission of large-scale commemorative statues of revolutionary women— including women of color, trans women, and non-binary individuals— to address the disparate gender imbalances in public spaces. The Department of Cultural Affairs committed to a budget of up to $10 million over the next four years. 

The She Built NYC initiative, spearheaded by McCray, accepted public nominations via an online survey, receiving close to 2,000 responses in total. Although the submissions overwhelmingly favored a memorial honoring the legacy of Mother Cabrini, the panel disregarded the majority, sparking outrage among Italian-American and Catholic communities. In response to the outcry, the governor announced his administration’s plans to work with local Italian-American groups and the Diocese of Brooklyn to oversee the creation of a state-funded memorial to Cabrini. 

The pandemic has indefinitely shelved the She Built NYC project.  

Italian-American and Catholic communities applauded the decision to erect the Cabrini monument, however residents of the southernmost district of Manhattan disapproved— arguing that Cabrini had little involvement with the region. The Mother Cabrini Memorial Commission was able to bypass political disputes and reject public concerns for building the monument in Battery Park City— an area that is owned and controlled by a state corporation. In the long-term, taxpayers and residents of Battery Park City will continue to pay upkeep on an ever-increasing collection of public artworks, jointly valued at $63 million. 

Ruth Bader Ginsburg Memorial 

Gillie & Marc (forthcoming)
Gillie & Marc, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Memorial (forthcoming), bronze. Image courtesy of the artists.

The nation is still mourning the untimely death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The announcement of her death, less than two months before the divisive 2020 election, was met with an outpouring of public grief for the beloved civil rights attorney and gender equality advocate. On the steps of the Supreme Court building in DC, mourners left makeshift memorials with handwritten notes, flower bouquets, and votive candles; public gatherings and candle-lit vigils were held in cities all over the country. The following day, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced in a tweet that the state plans to honor the life and legacy of Justice Ginsburg by erecting a permanent statue in her native Brooklyn. 

Less than a month later, the governor appointed a 23-member commission to oversee the design and location of the memorial, including members of Ginsburg’s family. NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio also announced plans to rename the Brooklyn Municipal Building in honor of the late Justice.

Officials at City Point, a residential and commercial development in Brooklyn’s metropolitan center, said that the monument will be unveiled on March 15, 2021, coinciding with both Women’s History Month and Justice Ginsburg’s 88th birthday. The bronze statue, created by artist duo Gillie and Marc, was originally built in partnership with Statues for Equality, whose initiative aims to balance the gender, racial, and ethnic disparities of public sculpture. The artists believe that installing statues of women in public spaces are major steps forward in the long-overdue fight for gender representation. 

Unlike the Mother Cabrini memorial, New Yorkers have mostly welcomed the forthcoming and permanent iconic statue of Justice Ginsburg. There has been little, if any, protest from the public regarding the budget of the memorial or upkeep. However, some in the art world wonder if the traditional solution of building a larger-than-life statue atop a pedestal is the best approach to memorializing the legacy of the adored American figure. Jerry Saltz, Senior Art Critic for New York Magazine, attributes “bad” and “generic” public sculpture to the bureaucratic systems that have long dictated public art— including the commissions composed of politicians, life-long political advisors, architects, and real-estate developers.

“One way to avoid this,” Saltz said, “is to, first of all, get a group of women together. I think you do not want the governor and another batch of male-whatever-politicians big-fucking-footing this thing around. [They should] just shut up and listen. Because to me, the monument to Ginsburg is not only a monument to Ginsburg; it is a monument to one of the greatest liberation movements in this country, which of course is feminism.”

Medusa with the Head of Perseus 

Luciano Garbati (2008-2020)
Luciano Garbati, Medusa with the Head of Perseus (2008-2020), bronze. Image courtesy of the MWTH Project.

One of the most controversial public sculptures of recent memory is Luciano Garbati’s, Medusa with the Head of Perseus. The seven-foot bronze sculpture of an unclothed Medusa reimagines the Greek myth by shifting the narrative of the myth to the perspective of Medusa while positioning the physical sculpture in the context of the #MeToo movement. Smooth and cold to the touch, but resolute and distinguished, Medusa gazes out above a sea of passersby. She is installed in Manhattan’s Collective Park Pond, across from the New York County Criminal Court where the Harvey Weinstein trials commenced. 

The sculpture is inspired by Benvenuto Cellini’s 16th-century bronze masterpiece, Perseus with the Head of Medusa. As Greek Mythology recounts, Medusa was once a beautiful maiden whose appearance was transformed after she was stalked and raped by the sea god, Poseidon in Athena’s temple. As punishment for “breaking” the vow of celibacy, Athena turned Medusa’s hair into a tangle of snakes and cursed her with a gaze powerful enough to petrify men. Perseus, son of Zeus and Danäe, murders Medusa in her sleep. He holds her severed head in an upright, trophy-like position— weaponizing it to turn his enemies to stone. Cellini’s statue and Greek Mythology shame Medusa for being a victim of rape. The Argentine- Italian sculptor’s interpretation, Medusa with the Head of Perseus, flips the context, giving the power back to Medusa and victims of sexual assault. 

At the mid-October unveiling, Garbati spoke of the women who had written to him, viewing the sculpture as catharsis. The artwork, created in 2008, has materialized into an artist-led project first conceived by Bek Andersen, called MWTH (Medusa With The Head – pronounced “myth”). Andersen contacted Garbati after the image went viral. Together, the two applied to NYC Parks’ program, Art in the Parks.

MWTH engages the narrative habits of classical imaginaries of the past, present, and future, and sells miniature replicas and agitprop of Garbati’s, Medusa. A small portion of the proceeds goes to the National Women’s Law Center.

Although the sculpture reimagines the myth by shifting the power to women—an act that is seemingly well-intentioned and fits into the narrative of feminist ideals— the artwork has been met with a deluge of controversy. For one, the sculpture predates the birth of the #MeToo movement by nearly a decade. Secondly, #MeToo was created by Tarana J. Burke, a Black activist from the Bronx. In a post, Burke wrote: “This monument may mean something to some folks, but it is NOT representative of the work that we do or anything we stand for.” In Garbati’s vision of Medusa, the Gorgon unrelentingly grips the severed head of Perseus and not the head of Poseidon, her rapist. This may be an act of irrefutable violence but artistically, it is not a radical political act. [Violence in art is nothing new.] The emphasis on violence and revenge in Garbati’s narrative conflicts with the entirety of the #MeToo movement. “This isn’t the kind of symbolism that this Movement needs,” wrote Burke.

The decision to erect Garbati’s Medusa is a classic example of a missed opportunity for minority representation that the City [and the art world] will continue to perpetuate. Instead, the City chose an artwork with a message created by a man, depicting a naked woman with an idealized muscular physique, Euro-centric features, and shaved genitalia. 

A redeeming quality of Medusa with the Head of Perseus is that it is temporary. Until her removal, Medusa will stand indignant, across the street from a criminal courthouse, reminding the public that through millennia women who are sexually assaulted are likely to be blamed. 

Happy Martin Luther King Jr Day!

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It’s time to celebrate, grow, and build together.

Our top reads to celebrate all of those who work as activists who fight for rights and equality for all.

The Free Black Women’s Library: A Space for Radical Ideas

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Back in 2015, visual artist, OlaRonke Akinmowo wanted to create an art project that empowered and honored Black women’s creativity, scholarship, education, and research. With a background in collage, printmaking, and decorating, Ola’s work brings different pieces together to create something new and unified. With this, she created The Free Black Women’s Library.

The Free Black Women’s Library is a literary social art project featuring traveling installations of over 2,000 books, magazines, and other material written by Black women. The program is simple: come to a library event, join the discussion, donate a book, and choose a book for yourself. Every event takes a different shape by taking on a different space. “Like a collage: poetry, horror, science fiction, romance, comic books, children’s books all written by Black women are being brought together in a way to create a library shape and community space.”

Nervous but excited and curious how the neighborhood would respond, Ola started the library one summer day off a front stoop in BedStuy, Brooklyn with just 100 books. With the forecast possibly showing rain, she remembers her main concern being the safety of her then small collection of books. She reminds us, “Books are precious objects.”

Over the next years, the library has grown and traveled to hundreds of locations around New York City, and outside to Detroit, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. Each month there is a different theme, book, or writer that compliments the location. For example, this past March, for Women’s History Month, the installation at Weeksville Heritage Center in Crown heights focused on womanism within Black history. When it was at Concord Baptists Church, they focused on themes of humanity, spirituality, and love. Each installation brings new crowds, where everyone is welcomed to hang out all day, making new friends, reading, writing, and trading books.

The main goal is “to build a comfortable and creative space for radical ideas. Deep connections, vulnerability, joy, and pleasure… Visitors can come and find themselves in the space. I want it to feel like an inclusive space. Intergeneration. Always free.” The library has attracted young and old readers, families, and friend groups to visit and follow the program online. With a large collection of children’s books, classics, and contemporary literature, there is something for all interests, ages, perspectives, and reading levels. It’s a sustainable, ever-flowing, and connecting system where each individual’s participation influences the library’s collection.

By focusing on Black female authors, the library highlights the nuances of subjects, genres, and experiences of Black women. These vast distinctions and variety of voices are often disproportionately overlooked in traditional literary discussions. It works to share and give a platform to authors and ideas that may not be as widely recognized, especially in particular genres like fantasy or young adult novels. “The beauty of it is if you are a Black woman who has access to Black women writers it is very affirming to see yourself in art and literature. It’s humanizing.”

By inviting others to share in this empowering and humanizing art and activism, Ola strives to create a more positive world for her daughter (18). Motherhood has kept Ola constantly up, curious, and creating. It’s also one of her reasons for starting the Sister Outsider Relief Grant, a one-time cash grant for single community-working mothers. She states, “I want to make the world softer and kind.”

While recognizing how Black women deal with racism and sexism on an everyday basis, the library provides a space for Black women to express themselves and be seen as more than the archetypes they are too often boxed into. The Free Black Women’s Library asks more from visitors, readers, writers, and traditional institutions by exposing and bringing together the extensive works of Black women. Most importantly allowing them to be seen and be brilliant, imaginative, tough, funny, smarkt, and romantic. Anything one wants to be.

Everyone is invited to join the library community. Ola believes in the strong value of all genders, racers, ethnicities, and backgrounds to open and excite their minds to Black female authors. “It may take you out of your comfort zone and inspire you to think differently.” As an artists, activist, and educator Ola’s work invites and strives to open people’s minds. She advises, “Make sure your reading list is open and diverse. Read different types of stories. Not just stories that are written in this perfect Queen’s English, but slang and country English. And see the world through another woman’s eyes.”

While the COVID Pandemic had stopped the library from traveling and setting up installations, they have transitioned online, but it has been a challenge for a project that thrives on community. The library works best when people can come together with books in their hands, to meet face to face, and create a shared educational space. Now there are limits from internet access, to online devices, and scheduling. But the Free Black Women’s Library is still doing all it can by starting a YouTube channel, Instagram Live streams, and Zoom calls with readings, discussions, and writing prompts.

While they have been keeping people engaged, Ola has looked forward to when everyone can come together again and trade books, ideas, and smiles (even if it is behind a mask.) She will also be working towards some big long-term goals for the future of the library, including getting a vehicle for a bookmobile, creating an app, and establishing a full-time space and resource center.

Follow the Free Black Women’s Libary on Instagram @thefreeblackwomenslibrary and use the link in bio to learn more about how to support the program. Or visit their website here.

Support on Patreon.

Best of Summer – Shirley Chisholm Returns To Brooklyn: A New Take on the American Monument (2019)

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Our Destiny, Our Democracy artist rendering

Shirley Anita St. Hill was born and raised in Brooklyn New York to Caribbean immigrant parents. She attended Brooklyn College and Columbia University, earning a masters in elementary education. After working as a teacher and daycare director, she moved into public service serving two terms in NY State Legislature. In 1968, she became the first black woman elected to Congress, representing NY’s 12th congressional district of  Bedford-Stuyvesant. Then in 1972, she became the first black woman to run for President under a major political party saying,

I am not the candidate for Black America, although I am black and proud. I am not the candidate of the women’s movement of this country, although I am a woman, and I am equally proud of that. I am the candidate of the people of America.”

Shirley Chisholm on her presidential run in 1972

Chisholm went on as a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Women’s Caucus. She retired after 14 years and passed away on New Year’s Day 2005. Ten years later, Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom. And now her portrait, commissioned by members of Congress- an honor usually only reserved for party leaders- watches over the most diverse and most female freshman class Congress has ever seen.

Chisholm will once again make history as the first female historical figure to have a monument dedicated to her in Brooklyn. 

Artists Amanda Williams and Olalekan Jeyifous’ design “Our Destiny, Our Democracy” honors Shirley Chisholm in a way that reimagines the functional purpose and ideology of the American monument. “This artwork will be bright, bold, and makes a statement – just like Chisholm herself,” says First Lady Chirlane McCray. This project, from She Built NYC, is working to represent the women who have shaped the city while addressing the gender gap in NYC monuments. Currently, just 5 of the 150 statues in NYC depict women. 

She Built NYC will change this male-dominated landscape of historical figures. So far, five trailblazing women will be commemorated in upcoming projects set to hit the boroughs- Billie Holiday (Queens), Elizabeth Jennings Graham (Manhattan), Dr. Helen Rodriguez Trías (Bronx), Katherine Walker (Staten Island), and of course, Shirley Chisholm will return to her home of Brooklyn. The 40 foot-tall structure, set for completion by the end of 2020 at the southeastern corner of Prospect Park, encompasses Shirley’s life’s work and her mindset of coming together through democracy.

During Shirley’s time in Congress, she worked to represent the needs of the people. Specifically, those who were underrepresented, which in 1968 and still today means women, people of color, and the youth. Her wants for equal democracy and unwillingness to back down from what she saw was wrong earned her the nickname “Fighting Shirley.” 

Speaking about the title Dr. Zinga Fraser, Director of The Shirley Chisholm Project of Brooklyn Women’s Activism says, “The name referred to Chisholm’s commitment to taking on the status quo… As a Black woman in America who sought to be a “catalyst for change” in a historically oppressive society, fighting was a routine aspect of her life… Any narrative about Chisholm or Black women’s activism that overlook this struggle is a misleading narrative.”

During Chisholm’s time in office, there were more bills passed relating to child care, education, and human rights than any other point in history. Dr. Fraser points out, “She would argue that a nation’s most important resource was ‘its children.’” Distinguishing herself as a champion of youth, many agree that every school child should know who Shirley Chisholm was. And know they will! – when students, parents, teachers, and all Brooklyn residents walk down Parkside Ave to see Chisholm’s beautiful figure.

The vibrant design from Williams and Jeyifous works to embrace this fighting spirit. The multi-prog, 40-foot tall steel sculpture reconstructs Chisholm’s portrait, the United States Capitol Building, and decorative patterns of vines and leaves. Her strong eyes with signature glasses, full head of curly hair, and poise figure will greet the public reminding us of her unique gift to connect to both children and adults with grace and empathy. Throughout the day these silhouetted compositions will cast shadows along the sidewalks complementing the surrounding trees and vegetation. These strikingly colorful and dynamic pieces assemble an amphitheater-style stage; inviting people to come together, interact, and occupy the space below Chisholm’s guiding light. The elevated seats will be inscribed with the names of women who followed- and will follow- in Fighting Shirley’s revolutionary footsteps; reminiscent of her famous quote, “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.”

Olalekan Jeyifous and Amanda Williams
Credit: Faye Penn, women.nyc.

With differing styles rooted in architectural study, Williams and Jeyifous’ individual and collaborative work focus on public spaces and public conversations. “Our project celebrates Shirley Chisholm’s legacy as a civil servant who ‘left the door open’ to make room for others to follow in her path toward equity and a place in our country’s political landscape. We have designed a monument in which her iconic visage can be immediately recognizable while also equally portraying the power, beauty, and dimensionality of her contributions to our democracy,” reads their artist statement.

“Our Destiny, Our Democracy” works to challenge the traditional notions of the American monument. Think Gaetano Russo’s Columbus Circle statue, or literally every monument just north at Grand Army Plaza. These traditional monuments commemorate figures by placing them in positions of power- strong and sturdy like the marble they are carved in. Telling us, “This person was important!”, but not much else. Many have sparked controversy that even Mayor De Blasio has addressed; “Our approach will focus on adding detail and nuance to – instead of removing entirely – the representations of these histories. And we’ll be taking a hard look at who has been left out and seeing where we can add new work to ensure our public spaces reflect the diversity and values of our great city.”

Williams and Jeyifous want to grant the ability to interact with art and tell that larger, more intersectional story. A narrative that showcases “the substance of Chisholm’s career- a career in which she fought for human rights and against corrupt and anti-democratic features of the U.S. political system… [and] created a foundation for candidates like Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, but also candidates like Jesse Jackson and Bernie Sanders who sought to expand the electorate and/or advance under-represented philosophies.” 

Dr. Zinga Fraser was part of the team that observed the artist presentation for the monument. She states, “We hope that the new monument will provoke conversation about Shirley Chisholm’s decision to become directly involved in politics even when the system and its defenders actively tried to tear her down. We hope that this will generate conversation about the unique challenges of marginalized communities and how they help transform American democracy for themselves and for humanity at large. We hope that it will also promote Chisholm’s long-held belief that direct involvement alone is the only thing that changes the system.”

The new 360-degree design will allow us to immerse ourselves in compelling examinations of history. From different points of view around the sculpture, the viewer will see varying ways the capital, vegetation, and Shirley herself come together. At no point is one piece wholly visible, in the same way, one never completely disappears. Instead, their relationship is inseparable. 

Thanks to She Built NYC, these artists have been given the ability to reflect on our current political, social, and cultural climate; and from there, promote diverse and unique perspectives of history and relationships. Questioning the relationship between individuals and government, citizen and leaders, laws and communities, nature and humankind, and so on. By breaking down the traditional American monument, they have created public art whose meaning and connotations are ever changing. Soon, we will see- and be able to participate in!- the discussions Williams and Jeyifous’ piece will provoke – during this the current Trump Administration, the upcoming 2020 election, and wherever the future of politics and American life takes us. The beauty and revolutionary aspect of this monument is not only that its subject is black and female, but that its narrative will transform with each individual viewer; inviting them to sit, think, and share their experiences, identity, and even arguments with others in the same way that Shirley Chisholm did. 

We look forward to experiencing this new kind of monument accomplish its goal of portraying a multidimensional narrative- a more diverse, complete, and malleable story of equal democracy that will transform how we view history for years to come.

Our Destiny, Our Democracy