By the end of 2020, a new monument will rise at the Ocean Avenue entrance to Prospect Park. Titled Our Destiny, Our Democracy, the monument, initiated by She Built NYC, will publicly memorialize Shirley Chisholm—the first black woman to serve in Congress. Of the 150 statues of public figures in the city, only five are currently dedicated to women. The new memorial, designed by Chicago-based Amanda Williams and Brooklyn-based Olalekan Jeyifous, will exemplify Chisholm’s dynamism as it offers different viewing perspectives to park-goers. As this sixth female monument for the city is being completed, She Built NYC will also be giving form to four other statues in different boroughs: Billie Holiday in Queens, Elizabeth Jennings Graham in Manhattan, Dr. Helen Rodríguez Trías in the Bronx, and Katherine Walker in Staten Island.
