• Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar

The New York History Blog

Historical News and Views from the Empire State

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • Events
  • Exhibits
  • Podcasts
  • Books
  • Conferences
  • Subscribe
  • Support
  • Submit
  • About

Proposals Sought for Sojourner Truth Monument

October 1, 2018 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (State Parks) has announced a request for proposals (RFP) from potential private sector partners to design, build and install a monument in commemoration of famed abolitionist and suffragette Sojourner Truth.

The monument of Sojourner Truth will be sited at the Walkway Over the Hudson along the Empire State Trail in Ulster County, where she was born. Truth was born into slavery circa 1797, sold three times, and ultimately escaped to freedom in 1826. She went on to become a noted abolitionist and women’s rights advocate until her death in 1883.

State Parks invites artists and artist teams to apply to design, fabricate and install a permanent public artwork to commemorate Sojourner Truth’s contributions to history and complement the newly completed Welcome Center at the Walkway Over the Hudson visited by more than 600,000 people annually.

State Parks is interested in figurative or abstract work that captures Sojourner Truth’s strength, vision and dedication to freedom and women’s rights. Artists are encouraged to develop their own understanding of the context of Truth’s life and achievements in support of racial and gender equality particularly during the period she resided in the Hudson Valley.

Proposals are due by 3 pm Tuesday, November 27, 2018. For more information or to receive a copy of the RFP contact Joseph Scandurra in the State Parks’ Contract Management Bureau at contracts@parks.ny.gov or (518) 486-2914.

In November 2017, Governor Cuomo and Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul announced the construction of a monument honoring Sojourner Truth to commemorate the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage in New York State. The monument is the beginning of an effort to more fully include and represent women and people of all races and creeds who have contributed to the history of New York State.

New York State is the home of the women’s rights movement. It hosted the first-ever Women’s Rights Convention at Seneca Falls in 1848, organized by Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Sixty-nine years later, on November 6, 1917, women in New York State secured the right to vote. Three years later, the 19th Amendment was ratified, granting women across the United States the right to vote.

The New York State Women’s Suffrage Commission is organizing programs to commemorate women’s suffrage through 2020, which will be a century after the 19th Amendment was ratified. The Commission’s programs celebrate the accomplishment of women’s suffrage and the central role of New Yorkers and New York State in this milestone, while also helping shape the future to ensure a more just and equitable society for all. For more information about the Commission click here.

Photo of Sojourner Truth from an albumen silver print c. 1870.

Filed Under: Historic Preservation, History Tagged With: Abolition, Slavery, Sojouner Truth, State Parks, Walkway Over The Hudson

Editorial Staff

About Editorial Staff

Stories written under the Editorial Staff byline are drawn from press releases and other notices. Submit your news to The New York History Blog here.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

RSS Latest NY History News

  • Rev War Graveyard Found in Lake George
  • Replica Ship Half Moon Losing Dutch Host Port
  • Museum Seeking 46er Summit Canisters
  • State Forests Keep Sustainable Certification
  • Human Remains Discovered in Lake George
  • DEC: More Rangers Not Needed
  • Efforts to Reopen Hague Fire Tower
  • New Leadership for Newburgh Land Bank
  • VT's Green Mountain College Closing
  • $82.5M in Orda Venue Upgrades

Help Us Reach Our Fundraising Goal For 2018

Recent Comments

  • Beverly Campbell on Lewis County: What Happened to Eben Rice in Martinsburg
  • james on Onondaga Historians Marking Split Rock Explosion
  • Jean Wort on Newburgh’s Downing Park, A Short History
  • James Richmond on John W. Taylor: New York’s (Almost Only) Speaker of the House
  • Julie Dowd on Northern Slavery: Part of the American Story
Subscribe! Follow The New York History Blog each day via E-mail, RSS, Twitter or Facebook updates.

Secondary Sidebar

historic canal signs

© 2019 · The New York History Blog · Webdesign By: Suloff Designs