By Bob Katzen
Senate President Karen Spilka (D-Ashland) announced that busts of women’s rights leader and first lady Abigail Adams, as well as freedom fighter Elizabeth Freeman, the first enslaved woman to successfully sue for her freedom in the U.S., will be commissioned and placed in the Massachusetts Senate Chamber. Adams and Freeman will be the first permanent busts depicting women in the Massachusetts Statehouse.
“Whether by accident or design, the contributions of women who have shaped our commonwealth and nation have too long been absent from Statehouse art,” said Senate President Karen Spilka (D-Ashland). “Today we raise up Abigail Adams and Elizabeth Freeman as trailblazers and leaders who should rightfully be honored in the Senate Chamber. Their presence will help us send a clear message to every woman who walks our halls: you belong here.”
“Representation is not meant to be a crumb,” said Sen. Julian Cyr (D-Cape and Islands), Chair of the Senate Art Committee. “The decision to place busts of two women in the Senate chamber is a meaningful testament to the extraordinary contributions of scores of women to our commonwealth. This marks an important step in our ongoing work to recognize the women and individuals who have shaped Massachusetts but have too often been overlooked in our history books.”
Elizabeth Freeman, born into slavery in New York around 1744, became the first African American woman to successfully sue for her freedom in Massachusetts. Inspired by the promise of liberty in the Massachusetts Constitution, her 1781 case, Brom and Bett v. Ashley, helped establish that slavery was incompatible with the state’s founding principles. After gaining her freedom, Freeman became a respected healer and midwife, later securing her place in history as a trailblazer for civil rights.
Abigail Adams, known for urging the Founding Fathers to “remember the ladies,” was an early advocate for women’s rights and education. As a trusted advisor to her husband, President John Adams, she managed their household and finances while influencing political discourse through her letters.