BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — After a brief intermission, Karen King, the executive director of the Erie County Commission on the Status of Women is ready to revamp the trailblazing women of WNY monument project.
“We are in a full fundraising mode right now. We hope to continue to receive contributions from foundations, but we do hope to enter into the next phase which will include the creation of a steering committee and then the process of soliciting proposal from artists," King said.
The project will feature a statue of three women who have made significant contributions to our area. Louise Bethune, the first professional woman architect in the United States and the designer of Hotel Lafayette. Mary Talbert, a renowned humans and civil rights leader and Geraldine Green, an educator and member of the Seneca nation.
The three icon ladies will placed in front of the Erie County Public Library. A location that King says is significant to them all.
“Well of course Louise Bethunbeing the architect of the Lafyette Hotel and the Lafayette Hotel being close to the library is significant. But also, the Talbert family owned property on that area. And of course, with Green being a member of the Seneca nation, all of this land belonged to Native Americans.”
King is hoping these statues will empower the present and future women of Western New York.
“It’s important that women hold a place in our community and that their contributions are valorized just as men's contributions have been for centuries,” she said.
King is hoping the statues will be finished by the end of next year.
