{"id":4566,"date":"2026-04-17T16:34:59","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T16:34:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=4566"},"modified":"2026-04-17T16:34:59","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T16:34:59","slug":"chicago-murals-womens-suffrage-art-that-started-in-chicago-is-growing-across-u-s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=4566","title":{"rendered":"Chicago murals: Women&#8217;s suffrage art that started in Chicago is growing across U.S."},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>A series of women\u2019s suffrage murals that took root in Chicago is expanding across the United States. Three murals that pay tribute to the 1920 passage of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote, have gone up in the Loop, and the murals have been so well-received that the organizers behind them are planning additional murals commemorating women\u2019s suffrage in New York City and Portland, Oregon, as part of the National Suffrage Mural Series.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople just don\u2019t know that there was a time when women didn\u2019t have the right to vote. They didn\u2019t know that it took 70-plus years and multiple generations of women. They also don\u2019t know that the effort was multiracial,\u201d says mural series co-director Michelle Duster, a Chicago-based author, historian and the great-granddaughter of journalist and early civil rights leader Ida B. Wells.<\/p>\n<p>Initially branded the Chicago Suffrage Mural Series, two of the three original murals, which were intended for a site near Columbia College Chicago, were blocked when a parking lot owner refused to rent the artists space to stage their paint and scaffolding. He called the murals \u201ctoo political,\u201d according to a <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/chicago.suntimes.com\/news\/2021\/11\/15\/22783199\/speak-up-mural-womens-suffrage-columbia-college\" target=\"_blank\" data-cms-ai=\"0\">2021 Sun-Times story<\/a>. Two years later, the murals found their permanent home about a block away.<\/p>\n<div class=\"Enhancement\" data-align-center=\"\">\n<div class=\"Enhancement-item\" data-crop=\"large-2x1-notfixed\">\n<figure class=\"Figure\"><a class=\"AnchorLink\" id=\"image-b30000\" name=\"image-b30000\" data-cms-ai=\"0\"\/>\n        <picture data-crop=\"large-2x1-notfixed\"><source type=\"image\/webp\" width=\"840\" height=\"560\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cst.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/e49687d\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/4770x3180+0+0\/resize\/840x560!\/format\/webp\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F04%2Fbe%2F4b6862f04ee69641f989b939b151%2Fmurals-suffrage-260419-08.jpeg 1x,https:\/\/cst.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/092cb97\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/4770x3180+0+0\/resize\/1680x1120!\/format\/webp\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F04%2Fbe%2F4b6862f04ee69641f989b939b151%2Fmurals-suffrage-260419-08.jpeg 2x\" data-lazy-load=\"true\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSI1NjBweCIgd2lkdGg9Ijg0MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=\"\/><source width=\"840\" height=\"560\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cst.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/bdd9f97\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/4770x3180+0+0\/resize\/840x560!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F04%2Fbe%2F4b6862f04ee69641f989b939b151%2Fmurals-suffrage-260419-08.jpeg\" data-lazy-load=\"true\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSI1NjBweCIgd2lkdGg9Ijg0MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=\"\/><\/p>\n<\/picture>\n<div class=\"Figure-content\"><figcaption class=\"Figure-caption\">\n<p>The \u201cVotes for Women\u201d and \u201cSpeak Up!\u201d murals at 623 S. Wabash Ave. often appear as backdrops on social media posts.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><span class=\"line\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"Figure-credit\">\n<p>Anthony Vazquez\/Sun-Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Given the current political climate, the message is especially important, say Duster and co-director Neysa Page-Lieberman, who previously served as executive director of Exhibitions and Performance at Columbia College and chief curator of the Wabash Arts Corridor.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur rights continue to be stripped away, and it\u2019s accelerated in the past few years,\u201d Page-Lieberman says. \u201cWe can\u2019t just rest on our laurels and think because we had this hard-fought, hard-won victory 100 years ago that we will always have that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Chicago murals sit along the Wabash Arts Corridor in the Loop. They are made up of:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"rte2-style-ul\" id=\"rte-b0024982-374f-11f1-9779-ab04fb0dfc67\">\n<li>\u201cOn the Wings of Change\u201d at 33 E. Ida B. Wells Drive by artist Jasmina<i> <\/i>Cazacu, who goes by the artist name Diosa. This portrait mural shows a teenage girl who seems to be dreaming of 10 Chicago suffragists, including Ida B. Wells. <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/library.colum.edu\/archives\/college-history\/buildings\/33-ida-b-wells-drive.php\" target=\"_blank\" data-cms-ai=\"0\">The building houses Columbia College offices, classrooms and the school\u2019s radio station<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>\u201cSpeak Up!\u201d at 623 S. Wabash Ave. by artist Dorian Sylvain. It features the popular quote that former Vice President Kamala Harris said in a debate with then-vice presidential candidate Mike Pence: \u201c\u2026 I\u2019m speaking.\u201d <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/library.colum.edu\/archives\/college-history\/buildings\/623-south-wabash.php\" target=\"_blank\" data-cms-ai=\"0\">The building is owned by Columbia College and contains classrooms, offices, science labs, art studios and more<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>\u201cVotes for Women,\u201d<i> <\/i>also<i> <\/i>at 623 S. Wabash Ave. by artist AB Productions, includes a yellow rose, a symbol of suffragists, and commemorates 70 years of activism before women received the right to vote.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"Enhancement\" data-align-center=\"\">\n<div class=\"Enhancement-item\">\n<p>                        <bsp-carousel class=\"Carousel Enhancement\" data-align-center=\"\"><br \/>\n    <a class=\"AnchorLink\" id=\"gallery-400001\" name=\"gallery-400001\" data-cms-ai=\"0\"\/><\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"Carousel-slides\">\n<div class=\"Carousel-slide\">\n<div class=\"CarouselSlide\">\n<div class=\"CarouselSlide-info\">\n<p><span class=\"CarouselSlide-infoDescription\">\u201cOn the Wings of Change\u201d by Diosa at 33 E. Ida B. Wells Drive in the Loop.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                <span class=\"CarouselSlide-pipe\">|<\/span><br \/>\n                <span class=\"CarouselSlide-infoAttribution\">Anthony Vazquez\/Sun-Times<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"Carousel-slide\">\n<div class=\"CarouselSlide\">\n<div class=\"CarouselSlide-info\">\n<p><span class=\"CarouselSlide-infoDescription\">Jasmina Cazacu, who goes by the artist name Diosa, stands in front of \u201cOn the Wings of Change,\u201d her mural honoring 10 Chicago suffragists.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                <span class=\"CarouselSlide-pipe\">|<\/span><br \/>\n                <span class=\"CarouselSlide-infoAttribution\">Candace Dane Chambers\/Sun-Times<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"Carousel-slide\">\n<div class=\"CarouselSlide\">\n<div class=\"CarouselSlide-info\">\n<p><span class=\"CarouselSlide-infoDescription\">Dorian Sylvain stands in front of her mural \u201cSpeak Up!\u201d at 623 S. Wabash Ave. in the Loop.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                <span class=\"CarouselSlide-pipe\">|<\/span><br \/>\n                <span class=\"CarouselSlide-infoAttribution\">Anthony Vazquez\/Sun-Times<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"Carousel-slide\">\n<div class=\"CarouselSlide\">\n<div class=\"CarouselSlide-info\">\n<p><span class=\"CarouselSlide-infoDescription\">\u201cVotes for Women,\u201d a mural by AB Productions, appears on a South Wabash Avenue building in the Loop.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                <span class=\"CarouselSlide-pipe\">|<\/span><br \/>\n                <span class=\"CarouselSlide-infoAttribution\">Anthony Vazquez\/Sun-Times<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"Carousel-slide\">\n<div class=\"CarouselSlide\">\n<div class=\"CarouselSlide-info\">\n<p><span class=\"CarouselSlide-infoDescription\">The \u201cOn the Wings of Change\u201d mural honoring 10 Chicago suffragists is at 33. E. Ida B. Wells Drive in the Loop.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                <span class=\"CarouselSlide-pipe\">|<\/span><br \/>\n                <span class=\"CarouselSlide-infoAttribution\">Candace Dane Chambers\/Sun-Times<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"Carousel-slide\">\n<div class=\"CarouselSlide\">\n<div class=\"CarouselSlide-info\">\n<p><span class=\"CarouselSlide-infoDescription\">The phrase &#8220;&#8230; I\u2019m speaking\u201d on this mural is a reference to the words Kamala Harris said during a vice presidential debate.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                <span class=\"CarouselSlide-pipe\">|<\/span><br \/>\n                <span class=\"CarouselSlide-infoAttribution\">Anthony Vazquez\/Sun-Times<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"Carousel-slide\">\n<div class=\"CarouselSlide\">\n<div class=\"CarouselSlide-info\">\n<p><span class=\"CarouselSlide-infoDescription\">Suffragists Catharine Waugh McCulloch and Ida B. Wells are depicted in the \u201cOn the Wings of Change\u201d mural in the Loop.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                <span class=\"CarouselSlide-pipe\">|<\/span><br \/>\n                <span class=\"CarouselSlide-infoAttribution\">Candace Dane Chambers\/Sun-Times<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"Carousel-slide\">\n<div class=\"CarouselSlide\">\n<div class=\"CarouselSlide-info\">\n<p><span class=\"CarouselSlide-infoDescription\">Suffragists Myra Bradwell and Fannie Barrier Williams are depicted in the \u201cOn the Wings of Change\u201d mural in the Loop.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                <span class=\"CarouselSlide-pipe\">|<\/span><br \/>\n                <span class=\"CarouselSlide-infoAttribution\">Candace Dane Chambers\/Sun-Times<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"Carousel-slide\">\n<div class=\"CarouselSlide\">\n<div class=\"CarouselSlide-info\">\n<p><span class=\"CarouselSlide-infoDescription\">The \u201cOn the Wings of Change\u201d mural honoring 10 Chicago suffragists is at 33. E. Ida B. Wells Drive in the Loop.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                <span class=\"CarouselSlide-pipe\">|<\/span><br \/>\n                <span class=\"CarouselSlide-infoAttribution\">Candace Dane Chambers\/Sun-Times<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/bsp-carousel><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Cazacu, who splits her time between Pilsen and Mexico City, said she modeled the girl in the portrait on a 14-year-old family friend. \u201cShe was four years away from having the right to vote in the next presidential election. That was a way for me to make it more personal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sylvain, of Hyde Park, said the \u201cSpeak Up\u201d mural holds meaning for her after growing up in a politically involved home and witnessing the social changes of the \u201860s, \u201870s and \u201880s.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs much as I can take for granted growing up in the time that I did, I also can really see how we are sliding backwards and it\u2019s really frightening,\u201d she says. For example, Sylvain witnessed Roe v. Wade pass, granting women the right to an abortion in all states, and then be overturned.<\/p>\n<p>Now, the murals are regularly included on walking tours of the Wabash Arts Corridor, Duster says. She\u2019s met students from Roosevelt and Loyola universities and Columbia College who view them for different class assignments. Occasionally, the murals show up as backdrops on social media. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou never know when it\u2019s going to pop up,\u201d Duster says. If someone seeks a Chicago cityscape photo with a feminist angle, \u201cthey\u2019ll want that in the background.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In New York City, Little Village artist Sam Kirk is planning the next installment of women\u2019s suffrage murals.<\/p>\n<p>The suffrage movement is \u201csomething that we\u2019re living through in many ways right now,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019m hoping that I\u2019m able to remind people of that \u2014 how much work has been done and why we need to keep a lot of this work in place.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/chicago.suntimes.com\/murals\/2026\/04\/17\/chicago-murals-womens-suffrage-south-loop-ida-b-wells\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A series of women\u2019s suffrage murals that took root in Chicago is expanding across the United States. Three murals that pay tribute to the 1920 passage of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote, have gone up in the Loop, and the murals have been so well-received that the organizers behind them [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4567,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-4566","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-usa-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4566","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4566"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4566\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4567"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4566"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4566"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4566"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}