Built to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment and the 150th anniversary of the first ballot cast by a woman under an equal suffrage law, “A Path Forward” honors Utah women’s contributions to the movement for equal voting rights. Facing the Utah State Capitol, it directly connects to the present and future of a wider movement around equality.
Created by artists Kelsey Harrison and Jason Manley, the sculpture features the words and deeds of advocates who achieved landmark victories to support and enable the women’s suffrage movement. It creates an interior without walls that symbolizes the suffragist’s success in breaking barriers. Each piece of the sculpture symbolizes something different, allowing audiences to experience the piece on multiple levels.
The wall of words is made of quotes from state and national suffrage leaders like Sojourner Truth, Susan B. Anthony, Martha Hughes Cannon and many more. They frame the visitor’s passage toward the Capitol. The chairs in the memorial are bronze replicas of chairs that are connected to the space where the Declaration of Sentiments was signed as well as the place where Utah lawmakers drafted and signed the state constitution in 1895.
Each doorframe represents an important event related to women’s suffrage, with the first being connected to the 19th Amendment, the second to the Indian Citizenship Act, the third to the Immigration and Nationality Act and the fourth to the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965. They serve as a timeline of voting rights legislation achievements for women and people of color.
The piece was commissioned by Better Days 2020, a nonprofit organized to bring awareness to women’s history. It was crafted by Weber State University associate professor of art and sculptor, Jason Manley, in collaboration with Memphis University assistant professor of art and sculptor, Kelsey Harrison.
Featuring a historical statement that details how Utah women were the first to cast ballots, visitors can get an incredible sense of how Utah suffragists organized to fight for the right to vote in the state and helped to enable the passage of the 19th Amendment. “A Path Forward” has come to serve as a powerful celebration of all those who fought for and continue to advocate for voting rights and equality, enabling audiences to connect with the past in literal and figurative ways that are helping them shape and define this mission for the future.
