By Bob Katzen
The Senate kicked off Women’s History Month on March 1 with the unveiling of a portrait of former First Lady and Massachusetts native Abigail Adams, the wife of President John Adams and an early advocate for women’s rights and women’s education who also opposed slavery.
Adams was an advocate for women’s rights at a time in history when women were barred from voting or holding elected office. Adams famously told her husband, a delegate in the First Continental Congress, to “remember the ladies.”
The portrait, unveiled by Senate President Karen Spilka (D-Ashland), will hang permanently in the Senate lobby.
“Centuries after Abigail Adams told the founders to ‘remember the ladies,’ we still have a long way to go to reach full equality when it comes to women’s representation on Beacon Hill,” said Spilka. “Either by accident or design, the many contributions of women who have shaped our commonwealth and our nation have been left out of the art here in the Statehouse. As we celebrate their achievements—and those of the strong women who lead our government today—I am committed to ensuring that the halls of power change to reflect these women. As we unveil Adams, we are taking a meaningful step towards ‘remembering the ladies’ and making it clear that women belong here.”
Spilka also announced the revival of the Senate Art Committee which was established in 1972, but has been dormant for many years, and the appointment of Sen. Julian Cyr (R-Truro) to head the committee. One of the committee’s first order of business is to solicit nominations from residents for a woman to be honored with a bust in the Senate Chamber. The committee is seeking nominees who are influential woman, with some ties to the Massachusetts, who have made historic contributions to the Bay State.
“The art that adorns the halls of the Statehouse should embody the values of Massachusetts and reflect who we are as a commonwealth,” said Cyr. “Yet, as I come and go from my office, I often remark that the portraits, murals, and sculptures in our capital do not encompass the richness of our history and the diversity of our communities. I am thrilled and honored to lead a renewed Senate Arts Committee, one that will work to expand inclusivity and representation in the art that beautifies the Statehouse. As an LGBTQ+ person, I understand how integral it is to see people like yourself represented in spaces of power. As we solicit submissions for a sculpture of a trailblazing woman to join the all-male busts in the Senate chamber, I am excited to see the remarkable names that will be put forward.”
A website will soon go online to accept