Forward Into Light (Part 1): Sandra Weber on Adelaide Johnson's Suffrage Statue

This conversation is Part I of a two part series devoted to unlocking the stories surrounding a statue that was unveiled on February 15, 1921 - the 101st birthday of Susan. B. Anthony. Years in the making, the Portrait Monument was a labor of love for the "sculptress of the suffrage movement," Adelaide Johnson (1859-1955). Special guest Sandra Weber, author of The Woman Suffrage Statue: A History of Adelaide Johnson's Portrait Monument at the United States Capitol (2016 McFarland) and the foremost expert on the statue, joins us for this special mini series. In 2012 Weber was awarded a Capitol Historical Society Fellowship to study the Portrait Monument. She consulted numerous archives - not only Adelaide Johnson's papers, but also the archives of the Architect of the Capitol - who oversaw the placement of the statue in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol - and then subsequently to the crypt. Join us to learn about Weber's journey in unearthing numerous treasure-stories connected to the statue and to women's history on the 100th anniversary of the statue's unveiling. We also focus on Susan B Anthony (1820-1906) who as we will learn, played an invaluable role in the creation of the Portrait Monument that was unveiled 15 years after her death, and on her 101st birthday.