June 28, 2026
Anna Laymon on Leaving a Mark: The Mothers, Daughters, and Monuments That Hold Us
Of the 40 monuments on the National Mall, zero are dedicated to American women's history. Anna Laymon is trying to change that.
Anna leads the Women's Suffrage National Monument Foundation, the organization authorized by Congress to build the first monument honoring women's history on the National Mall — and she's doing it while living right here in Fairhope and commuting to D.C. In this conversation, Anna and Lenise talk about the fight to get this monument approved, the campaign inviting everyday Americans to submit their own ideas for what it should be, and the women — known and unknown — whose stories deserve a place in stone. It's a conversation about legacy. About the grandmothers who never got their names written down. About what it means for a little girl to walk the National Mall one day and finally see herself.
Learn more or submit your own Monumental Idea at womensmonument.org.
1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:06,000
Lenise Ligon: It's a surprise.
2
00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:12,000
My latest episode came to me through an email I was not expecting from a woman I used to work with in the newsroom in Charlotte.
3
00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:18,000
Her name is Paige Tatum.
4
00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:24,000
She's one of those executive producers who ran a newsroom like it was hers.
5
00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:30,000
Sharp, decisive, the kind of woman who made everyone around her better.
6
00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:36,000
She left the news, moved to Boston, and found her way to the strategy side.
7
00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:42,000
And when she reached out to me about an idea, I knew immediately this was a story I wanted to share.
8
00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:48,000
She introduced me to Anna Laymon, a woman who lives right here on the Eastern Shore in Fairhope, and commutes to Washington, D.C.
9
00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:54,000
to lead some of the most significant monument projects in American history.
10
00:00:54,000 --> 00:01:00,000
Anna is the executive director of the Women's Suffrage National Monument Foundation, an organization tasked by Congress with
11
00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:05,454
Lenise Ligon: building the first monument on the National Mall dedicated to American women's history.
12
00:01:05,454 --> 00:01:10,909
There are 40 monuments on the National Mall. Zero are dedicated to women's history.
13
00:01:10,909 --> 00:01:16,363
This conversation moved me. I think it will move you too.
14
00:01:16,363 --> 00:01:21,818
So let's get into it. This is Living It Up with Lenise.
15
00:01:21,818 --> 00:01:27,272
Close your eyes and think of the many extraordinary women who have shaped your life.
16
00:01:27,272 --> 00:01:32,727
Can you picture their many faces? I did, and that list grew fast.
17
00:01:32,727 --> 00:01:38,181
Images coming to me at lightning speed.
18
00:01:38,181 --> 00:01:43,636
At the very top are my mother and grandmother.
19
00:01:43,636 --> 00:01:49,090
I learned so much from them about family, strength, community, and love.
20
00:01:49,090 --> 00:01:54,545
Their contributions were multidimensional, like all women's.
21
00:01:54,545 --> 00:02:00,000
It's those stories, those treasured memories, and that recognition
22
00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:05,000
Lenise Ligon: that Anna Laymon is working to bring forward as she leads the effort to build the first monument on the National Mall dedicated to American women's history.
23
00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:10,000
I'm curious, what kind of energy does it take to embark on something this big?
24
00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:15,000
After all, there are countless women's stories that together weave a rich tapestry of our history.
25
00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:20,000
How do you even begin to decide which stories are told first?
26
00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:25,000
Anna, I want to thank you for taking the time to speak with me.
27
00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:30,000
I can imagine how busy you are right now.
28
00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:35,000
Truly, it is a pleasure to speak with you through the podcast.
29
00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:40,000
Anna Laymon: Okay.
30
00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:45,000
Well, first, Lenise, let me say thank you for having me on and for helping us talk about the monument and diving into it.
31
00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:50,000
I really always enjoy getting to meet other women on the Eastern Shore and in Baldwin County who are leaders and who are invested in their community, and that's you.
32
00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:55,000
And so just the chance to meet you today is exciting for me.
33
00:02:55,000 --> 00:03:00,000
So thank you for having me on. So
34
00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:10,000
Anna Laymon: my name is Anna Laymon, and I live here in Baldwin County, and I have a really great job where I get to have a life here on the Eastern Shore, and then I also get to do this work in Washington, D.C., where I am working to build the first monument on the National Mall dedicated to American women's history.
35
00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:20,000
Lenise Ligon: Wow, so that's a dynamic, because you're commuting between Fairhope to D.C.
36
00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:30,000
What does it feel like to carry something with such significance from the Gulf Coast to a national level?
37
00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:40,000
Anna Laymon: I love how you put that, commuting between Fairhope and D.C., because that, I mean, that really is what my life is like.
38
00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:50,000
I really love that phrasing. It's really a joy.
39
00:03:50,000 --> 00:04:00,000
I mean, it is a special joy to get to have my sweet life here with my children and my family and then to also get to continue forward in this thing that I'm so passionate about, which is women's history and women's
40
00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:05,454
Anna Laymon: representation and women's leadership.
41
00:04:05,454 --> 00:04:10,909
And so to be able to do both and have both — I was born and raised in Tennessee, so for here, I am an outsider, right?
42
00:04:10,909 --> 00:04:16,363
I am not from Daphne. I am not from the Eastern Shore.
43
00:04:16,363 --> 00:04:21,818
I am from the South, but, you know, it's six hours away.
44
00:04:21,818 --> 00:04:27,272
That's not close enough, right?
45
00:04:27,272 --> 00:04:32,727
So getting to call Alabama home now is really a privilege for me, and I came down here because I had family here, and we wanted to be back close to family and close to home.
46
00:04:32,727 --> 00:04:38,181
My husband was in the Air Force for ten years, and so we moved around a lot.
47
00:04:38,181 --> 00:04:43,636
And so that's how we got to Washington, D.C., and we'd lived there for five years and loved it, loved every minute of it.
48
00:04:43,636 --> 00:04:49,090
But I was ready to be home, and I was ready to be with family.
49
00:04:49,090 --> 00:04:54,545
And so we decided to call Daphne and the Eastern Shore home.
50
00:04:54,545 --> 00:05:00,000
And so it's really just a joy for me to get to be able to be back in the South and be home, and then also get to commute to Washington, D.C., as you said, and to get to do that work as well
51
00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:05,454
Anna Laymon: and do something that for me is really about heart, right?
52
00:05:05,454 --> 00:05:10,909
It's about something that I care about deeply.
53
00:05:10,909 --> 00:05:16,363
That's a privilege — to get to live in a world where I can have both and be both things.
54
00:05:16,363 --> 00:05:21,818
Lenise Ligon: So I can hear your dedication to this cause.
55
00:05:21,818 --> 00:05:27,272
I'm curious, was there a moment, a person, a place that made you feel that this was your work to do?
56
00:05:27,272 --> 00:05:32,727
Anna Laymon: I love that question.
57
00:05:32,727 --> 00:05:38,181
A moment or a place that made me feel like this was my work to do.
58
00:05:38,181 --> 00:05:43,636
You know, I think that sometimes in life — and Lenise, I'd be curious for you if you feel this way also — I don't always see the road that is ahead of me, but when I look back, it all makes sense.
59
00:05:43,636 --> 00:05:49,090
And I feel very much that way about all of it, right?
60
00:05:49,090 --> 00:05:54,545
I don't always know how one thing is gonna lead to the next and to the next.
61
00:05:54,545 --> 00:06:00,000
But when I look in the rearview mirror, I can
62
00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:06,000
Anna Laymon: see how all of those puzzle pieces came together exactly how they were meant to.
63
00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:12,000
And I always knew that what I cared about was women's history.
64
00:06:12,000 --> 00:06:18,000
That is something I knew.
65
00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:24,000
But what I didn't know was how to make a difference and how I could take that thing that I cared so deeply about and do something with it.
66
00:06:24,000 --> 00:06:30,000
And I think what women especially hear a lot is, you know, "Oh, that thing that you care about, right, women's history — that's never gonna take you anywhere.
67
00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:36,000
You need to go to law school.
68
00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:42,000
You need to go to medical school..." Whatever it may be, right?
69
00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:48,000
And I always knew that there was good to do in the world with this thing that I cared about so much.
70
00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:54,000
And I just knew I was gonna figure it out, because I know that there are other people who care about the same thing, like you.
71
00:06:54,000 --> 00:07:00,000
And so
72
00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:07,500
Anna Laymon: I knew that there was a path, and I was just gonna have to find it, and maybe it's not the path that everybody travels, but I was gonna figure it out.
73
00:07:07,500 --> 00:07:15,000
And I think when it comes to women's history, you know, Lenise, I'm sure you have these moments in your life as well.
74
00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:22,500
I can look back and I can see — you know, I watched the movie A League of Their Own probably three hundred times, right?
75
00:07:22,500 --> 00:07:30,000
My grandparents lived in a trailer in East Tennessee in Sequatchie County, and they lived on top of a mountain.
76
00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:37,500
And there was nothing but woods and a TV and a VHS player, and they had, like, three movies, and one of those movies was A League of Their Own.
77
00:07:37,500 --> 00:07:45,000
I probably saw A League of Their Own three hundred times.
78
00:07:45,000 --> 00:07:52,500
Lenise Ligon: I don't know if I would care so deeply about women's history without that one movie.
79
00:07:52,500 --> 00:08:00,000
Anna Laymon: I think it is a remarkable thing to know that we can put things into the world and have no idea the ripple effects that those things are gonna have, but to believe
80
00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:07,500
Anna Laymon: that they're gonna make a difference.
81
00:08:07,500 --> 00:08:15,000
And that one movie, for me, led me into a world where I understood that women's stories mattered and that women's stories needed champions, and that I wanted to be one of those champions.
82
00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:22,500
Lenise Ligon: That's a great answer, Anna.
83
00:08:22,500 --> 00:08:30,000
I do totally relate to dots that are scattered everywhere, and then when you have an opportunity to reflect, seeing how they connect along the way.
84
00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:37,500
If only we had that perspective in the moment, because it can be difficult as you're trying to figure it out.
85
00:08:37,500 --> 00:08:45,000
But once you finally do, it is so refreshing.
86
00:08:45,000 --> 00:08:52,500
And I too saw A League of Their Own multiple times — we'll have to compare notes on our favorite characters.
87
00:08:52,500 --> 00:09:00,000
But for our listeners tuning in, curious about this, or for those tuning in for the first time, what is the Women's Suffrage
88
00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:06,000
Lenise Ligon: National Monument Foundation?
89
00:09:06,000 --> 00:09:12,000
Anna Laymon: So the Women's Suffrage National Monument Foundation is the organization that has been tasked by Congress and the President with building a new monument on the National Mall dedicated to American women's history.
90
00:09:12,000 --> 00:09:18,000
I think for most folks who have the privilege of visiting Washington, D.C., and getting to walk the National Mall, you have the honor and the joy of getting to see and experience America's stories.
91
00:09:18,000 --> 00:09:24,000
You know, you walk on the National Mall, and you will see the Washington Monument.
92
00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:30,000
You will see the Lincoln Memorial.
93
00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:36,000
You'll see Martin Luther King, and you'll get to stand in honor of the Vietnam War and the Vietnam veterans and World War II and the Korean War.
94
00:09:36,000 --> 00:09:42,000
It's often called America's front yard, right?
95
00:09:42,000 --> 00:09:48,000
And it is the most visited national park in the United States.
96
00:09:48,000 --> 00:09:54,000
The National Mall receives thirty-six million annual visitors.
97
00:09:54,000 --> 00:10:00,000
That's more visitors than Yosemite, Yellowstone, and Grand Canyon combined.
98
00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:06,666
Anna Laymon: And so when we think about America's front yard, it truly is the keeper of our national stories.
99
00:10:06,666 --> 00:10:13,333
And so we went to the National Mall, and we started to look around, and we realized that of the forty monuments, memorials, and statues on the National Mall, zero are dedicated to American women's history.
100
00:10:13,333 --> 00:10:20,000
We have twenty-two dedicated to singular men, ten dedicated to military and war history.
101
00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:26,666
The list goes on.
102
00:10:26,666 --> 00:10:33,333
There's even a memorial for the Boy Scouts on the National Mall.
103
00:10:33,333 --> 00:10:40,000
But of those forty, zero are dedicated to celebrating American women's contributions to our democracy.
104
00:10:40,000 --> 00:10:46,666
And — you report on the news every day — some problems are very hard to fix.
105
00:10:46,666 --> 00:10:53,333
Some problems, the path forward seems unclear at best and at worst impossible.
106
00:10:53,333 --> 00:11:00,000
This problem is one that can be fixed. We realized we can
107
00:11:00,000 --> 00:11:06,666
Anna Laymon: fix the National Mall.
108
00:11:06,666 --> 00:11:13,333
We can make this change, and we can make the tapestry of the stories that we're weaving on the National Mall better and stronger and more full, because the American story — women's history — is part of the American story.
109
00:11:13,333 --> 00:11:20,000
And so whose stories we tell on the National Mall, how we tell them — those choices matter.
110
00:11:20,000 --> 00:11:26,666
And so when we realized that this was something that we could change, we set a course to make that change.
111
00:11:26,666 --> 00:11:33,333
So it's taken a lot of years and a lot of work, but we're doing it.
112
00:11:33,333 --> 00:11:40,000
We have two pieces of legislation now that authorize us to build this monument and to build it on the National Mall.
113
00:11:40,000 --> 00:11:46,666
We have an incredible coalition of supporters across the aisle and across the country who are ready to see this thing happen.
114
00:11:46,666 --> 00:11:53,333
And it's just been a remarkable few years.
115
00:11:53,333 --> 00:12:00,000
Lenise Ligon: Yeah. You talk about authorization. You managed to get this monument
116
00:12:00,000 --> 00:12:07,500
Lenise Ligon: authorized by Congress. I'm curious, what was the authorization process like? Was it tedious?
117
00:12:07,500 --> 00:12:15,000
Was it difficult? Or did they say, "You know what? You're right"?
118
00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:22,500
Anna Laymon: I wish it had been that simple.
119
00:12:22,500 --> 00:12:30,000
You know, the thing is, women have had to fight for everything that we have in this democracy.
120
00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:37,500
That's the story of the suffrage movement, right?
121
00:12:37,500 --> 00:12:45,000
The story of the suffrage movement is the story of women's fight for equality in early America, in an American democracy.
122
00:12:45,000 --> 00:12:52,500
It was women and men standing together saying, "Our country will be better and fuller if everyone here has full rights and full privileges and full ability to participate in our democracy." And until 1920 — until the ratification of the 19th Amendment — women did not have the constitutional right to vote.
123
00:12:52,500 --> 00:13:00,000
And so the 19th Amendment truly changed
124
00:13:00,000 --> 00:13:08,571
Anna Laymon: everything for women. Now, that was a fight that some say took 75 years.
125
00:13:08,571 --> 00:13:17,142
I think you can say it took a whole lot longer than that.
126
00:13:17,142 --> 00:13:25,714
I think you can trace that back to the founding of this country, to that first moment when Abigail Adams wrote John Adams a letter in March of 1776 encouraging him to remember the ladies in this new government that he was forming, right?
127
00:13:25,714 --> 00:13:34,285
Those are the seeds of this movement of women standing together and saying, "We are a part of this country, and we are a part of this democracy." Now, it took decades and generations for women to earn the constitutional right to vote and for women to fight that fight for equality in our democracy.
128
00:13:34,285 --> 00:13:42,857
So it is really no surprise that when we got to Congress, there were folks who were prepared to stand in our way.
129
00:13:42,857 --> 00:13:51,428
There just were.
130
00:13:51,428 --> 00:14:00,000
We, though, were very, very lucky, because we had this incredible coalition of bipartisan lawmakers
131
00:14:00,000 --> 00:14:08,571
Anna Laymon: who stood up and stood next to each other and said, "We are gonna make this happen." And so we had folks in the House of Representatives, we had folks in the Senate, and we had people from both sides of the aisle who would normally — you would never see them working together on a bill, right?
132
00:14:08,571 --> 00:14:17,142
You would never see them coming together for a bill, but they came together for this because they understood how much this mattered.
133
00:14:17,142 --> 00:14:25,714
And we also — Lenise, I'm sure that you know this — but we also are the first organization to have every living first lady serving together as our honorary chairs, and that is a remarkable privilege.
134
00:14:25,714 --> 00:14:34,285
From Rosalynn Carter all the way to Mrs.
135
00:14:34,285 --> 00:14:42,857
Trump, we truly were blessed to have every living first lady come together and say, "This matters.
136
00:14:42,857 --> 00:14:51,428
Women's representation matters.
137
00:14:51,428 --> 00:15:00,000
Women's stories matter." And so they came together, and Rosalynn Carter, before she passed, was a part of this group, and we had all six living
138
00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:07,500
Anna Laymon: first ladies serving together as our honorary chairs. Now it is all five.
139
00:15:07,500 --> 00:15:15,000
And the statement that that makes, the signal that that sends — that this monument is for all of us, that this monument is all of our stories — that is an incredible thing.
140
00:15:15,000 --> 00:15:22,500
And we did that early on.
141
00:15:22,500 --> 00:15:30,000
That was back in 2022 that we brought all of the first ladies together to serve as our honorary chairs, and we did that for a reason.
142
00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:37,500
We did that because we knew that we would need their strength with us when we walked into Capitol Hill and said, "Hey, this monument belongs on the National Mall, and we need to make that happen." Because what we knew would happen if we didn't is what happens to women's stories and women's work so often, right, which is that it's pushed to the side.
143
00:15:37,500 --> 00:15:45,000
It's made to be a footnote.
144
00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:52,500
And we weren't gonna allow women's stories to be a footnote anymore.
145
00:15:52,500 --> 00:16:00,000
And so with the first ladies standing alongside of
146
00:16:00,000 --> 00:16:06,666
Anna Laymon: us, with this incredible coalition of bipartisan lawmakers that included Senator Katie Britt — that included lots of women from the South who stood up and said, "Women deserve space on the National Mall" — because of that, we were able to get these bills passed.
147
00:16:06,666 --> 00:16:13,333
Lenise Ligon: You're right, that unity needs to be visible, because it lets people know that this is something that is important and it's something that we all should get on board with.
148
00:16:13,333 --> 00:16:20,000
Where does the project stand?
149
00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:26,666
Anna Laymon: So that's a great question.
150
00:16:26,666 --> 00:16:33,333
So a monument building in Washington, D.C., is — no one will be surprised to hear this — not quick.
151
00:16:33,333 --> 00:16:40,000
It is a process, but it's a process for a reason.
152
00:16:40,000 --> 00:16:46,666
It's a process that's designed to make sure that there's time for public input.
153
00:16:46,666 --> 00:16:53,333
It's a process that's designed to be sure that Americans really have the opportunity to speak into what this will be.
154
00:16:53,333 --> 00:17:00,000
So where we are right now, we
155
00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:08,571
Anna Laymon: have the authorization to build the monument and to build it on the National Mall.
156
00:17:08,571 --> 00:17:17,142
In December of 2025, so just a few months ago at this point, we secured two and a half acres on the National Mall.
157
00:17:17,142 --> 00:17:25,714
So, Lenise, this is gonna be what women deserve, what women have been waiting for, and what women have earned, for sure.
158
00:17:25,714 --> 00:17:34,285
We have two and a half acres in the heart of the National Mall, tucked in between the World War II Memorial, the Vietnam Wall, and the Reflecting Pool, and it's gonna be extraordinary.
159
00:17:34,285 --> 00:17:42,857
So now that we have our site, we get to launch into the exciting, dynamic chapter of designing this monument.
160
00:17:42,857 --> 00:17:51,428
And we have actually just launched a first-of-its-kind program called Monumental Ideas, where we are encouraging every American from age five to ninety-five — whether you're in Citronelle or Chickasaw — it can be anything, right?
161
00:17:51,428 --> 00:18:00,000
Get on our website. Tell me
162
00:18:00,000 --> 00:18:06,666
Anna Laymon: about your mother. Tell me about your grandmother.
163
00:18:06,666 --> 00:18:13,333
Tell me what she meant to you and why it matters that her story gets told.
164
00:18:13,333 --> 00:18:20,000
If you have ideas of what this could be, of what it could look like — We had this great submission last week.
165
00:18:20,000 --> 00:18:26,666
We had someone submit a bench, and she drew a bench on a piece of paper, with one bench in front, and then layers of benches around the side.
166
00:18:26,666 --> 00:18:33,333
And what she wrote on it was that she wants to make sure that there's a space at this monument for multi-generational families to take photos, so that you can bring your children, you can bring your grandmother, and everyone has a place to gather and sit for a photo.
167
00:18:33,333 --> 00:18:40,000
And I — I'm getting chills just thinking about it.
168
00:18:40,000 --> 00:18:46,666
I just thought that was so beautiful, right? What a beautiful idea.
169
00:18:46,666 --> 00:18:53,333
And this woman, this grandmother who submitted this idea — isn't that an idea a grandmother would think of, right?
170
00:18:53,333 --> 00:19:00,000
Because she's thinking
171
00:19:00,000 --> 00:19:06,666
Anna Laymon: about every generation. She's thinking about her granddaughter. She's thinking about her sister.
172
00:19:06,666 --> 00:19:13,333
She is thinking about bringing her family to this site.
173
00:19:13,333 --> 00:19:20,000
And so for the first time in our nation's history — this has never happened before — Americans are invited to submit their ideas for a new monument on the National Mall, and to be a part of building that monument from the ground up, which is gonna take this from just another monument that you might visit on the National Mall to a part of your family's history.
174
00:19:20,000 --> 00:19:26,666
Right now, this is a family heirloom.
175
00:19:26,666 --> 00:19:33,333
This is something that you sat down and were a part of creating.
176
00:19:33,333 --> 00:19:40,000
And so if you can, get with your daughter, get with your sister, get with your son, because this history is for all of us.
177
00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:46,666
Lenise Ligon: What struck me about the Monumental Ideas campaign is what Anna said — that they're not just making history with what they build.
178
00:19:46,666 --> 00:19:53,333
They're determined to make history with how they build it.
179
00:19:53,333 --> 00:20:00,000
Public input in monument design essentially never happened. This
180
00:20:00,000 --> 00:20:05,454
Lenise Ligon: foundation is choosing to be different.
181
00:20:05,454 --> 00:20:10,909
And if you want to be a part of it, you can submit your ideas right now at womensmonument.org.
182
00:20:10,909 --> 00:20:16,363
I'll be sure to put that link in the show notes.
183
00:20:16,363 --> 00:20:21,818
Now, back to our conversation.
184
00:20:21,818 --> 00:20:27,272
I do want to explore more about the call to action for the ideas, but before we go down that road, I want to pick up on that submission that you received.
185
00:20:27,272 --> 00:20:32,727
I'm guessing it's those gems, but I don't want to speak for you.
186
00:20:32,727 --> 00:20:38,181
What has surprised you most about this endeavor?
187
00:20:38,181 --> 00:20:43,636
Anna Laymon: About the submissions, what surprised me most about this program?
188
00:20:43,636 --> 00:20:49,090
Oh, I have a list. I have been blown away by people's creativity.
189
00:20:49,090 --> 00:20:54,545
I have been mesmerized by folks' thoughtfulness, and my cup has felt so full seeing and reading the stories that have been submitted.
190
00:20:54,545 --> 00:21:00,000
When
191
00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:10,000
Anna Laymon: we first started this campaign, we thought that we would be getting lots of drawings of suffragists and folks that people would want to see — and we have been getting those, and those are extraordinary.
192
00:21:10,000 --> 00:21:20,000
I have also loved seeing the family stories, because there are the suffragists whose names we know — there's Susan B.
193
00:21:20,000 --> 00:21:30,000
Anthony and Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Mary McLeod Bethune — names that even if we don't know a lot about them, might ring some bells, and we might say, "Okay, yeah, we know a little bit about her." And this monument will be for them, and it will celebrate what they did and what they achieved in their leadership.
194
00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:40,000
But equally, it will be for the women whose names were never recorded and never written down, because we didn't think to write their names down, because women's history has never mattered all that much.
195
00:21:40,000 --> 00:21:50,000
But that's changing with this monument.
196
00:21:50,000 --> 00:22:00,000
And so the stories and the submissions that we've received about normal, everyday acts of courage and acts of grace that we
197
00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:07,500
Anna Laymon: see from women and have seen from women in this country since it has existed — those stories have filled my cup in a way I could not have expected.
198
00:22:07,500 --> 00:22:15,000
The quiet dignity of our grandmothers — those stories have been pretty extraordinary.
199
00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:22,500
Lenise Ligon: Yeah, that's a great way of saying it — quiet dignity.
200
00:22:22,500 --> 00:22:30,000
As women, we are innately nurturers, and we don't think to put ourselves on a list.
201
00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:37,500
This new generation coined the phrase "pick me," but I think those who came before us — it was more about doing the work so that others could be in the position to even be there in the first place.
202
00:22:37,500 --> 00:22:45,000
So I love that you are asking for that public input, which is rare, by the way, to have that in a monument design.
203
00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:52,500
What does that say in terms of how this foundation is choosing to do it differently?
204
00:22:52,500 --> 00:23:00,000
Anna Laymon: You know, I love how
205
00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:05,000
Anna Laymon: you put that.
206
00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:10,000
With this monument, we know that as we are seeking to honor history, we are also writing history.
207
00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:15,000
Lenise Ligon: Mm.
208
00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:20,000
Anna Laymon: So the story of how this monument got built will be told one day.
209
00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:25,000
It will.
210
00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:30,000
And we know that we are carrying a torch that is extraordinarily important.
211
00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:35,000
And so for us, we're making history not just with what we're building, but we are determined to make history with how we build it.
212
00:23:35,000 --> 00:23:40,000
And we know that women make change differently. Women make change through collective action.
213
00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:45,000
That is the story of the suffrage movement.
214
00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:50,000
The story of the suffrage movement isn't the story of one voice.
215
00:23:50,000 --> 00:23:55,000
It's the story of how loud our voices can be when there are millions added together.
216
00:23:55,000 --> 00:24:00,000
And so just like the suffragists taught us, when it comes to building this monument, we want a mosaic of voices to build
217
00:24:00,000 --> 00:24:12,000
Anna Laymon: it together, in a way that women have always and will continue to make change — and that is by doing things together and doing things through a collective voice.
218
00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:24,000
And so, you know — Lenise, you just made a really beautiful point about suffragists that I just want to add to and echo.
219
00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:36,000
There are extraordinary quotes and moments from the suffrage movement where you had women fighting for something that they knew they would never live to see.
220
00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:48,000
You have extraordinary examples of women who stood up and said, "I know that this isn't gonna happen in my lifetime, because I can see how long this fight is going to be.
221
00:24:48,000 --> 00:25:00,000
I can see it, but I'm going to do it anyway, because I know that one day my granddaughters will know I was here, and they will know that I stood up when I was asked to stand up." And
222
00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:08,571
Anna Laymon: that — the courage that it takes to give your life to something that you know you will not live to see — that's extraordinary.
223
00:25:08,571 --> 00:25:17,142
That's extraordinary courage that we now get to honor on our National Mall.
224
00:25:17,142 --> 00:25:25,714
Lenise Ligon: Absolutely.
225
00:25:25,714 --> 00:25:34,285
When you think about this collection of voices, is there a woman from the suffrage movement whose story you think just hasn't been told enough?
226
00:25:34,285 --> 00:25:42,857
Anna Laymon: I find that with these women, even the names we know, we actually know so little about them.
227
00:25:42,857 --> 00:25:51,428
The suffragists have an extraordinary strength, and their stories are extraordinary.
228
00:25:51,428 --> 00:26:00,000
If we think about going back to 1848 and what it took for women to stand together and say, "We deserve more from our country, and
229
00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:12,000
Anna Laymon: we are gonna ask for it, and we are gonna fight for it," what that took in 1848 — this is before the Civil War — I mean, what an extraordinary act of courage.
230
00:26:12,000 --> 00:26:24,000
In July of 1848, you had more than three hundred folks gather together in Seneca Falls, New York, and put down on paper for the first time their demands — their demands for equality, their demands for education, their demands to be seen and represented in their government, including the right to vote.
231
00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:36,000
That moment in July of 1848 is usually what folks attribute to be the first moment, the start of the organized suffrage movement.
232
00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:48,000
Imagine the courage to do that in 1848.
233
00:26:48,000 --> 00:27:00,000
And interestingly enough, that same month and that same year is when the first stone was laid on the Washington Monument
234
00:27:00,000 --> 00:27:06,666
Anna Laymon: on the National Mall.
235
00:27:06,666 --> 00:27:13,333
So the start of the National Mall begins with the Washington Monument, at the exact same moment that folks are gathering in Seneca Falls, New York, to say women deserve to be full participants in our democracy.
236
00:27:13,333 --> 00:27:20,000
It is no surprise that women's stories are not included on the National Mall.
237
00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:26,666
Women's stories weren't included on the National Mall because women weren't seen as full people.
238
00:27:26,666 --> 00:27:33,333
We still were operating under coverture laws in this country.
239
00:27:33,333 --> 00:27:40,000
Coverture laws are the laws left over that we brought over as colonies from England.
240
00:27:40,000 --> 00:27:46,666
Coverture laws are the laws that say a woman is first the property of her father, and then, when she marries, she becomes the property of her husband.
241
00:27:46,666 --> 00:27:53,333
In July of 1848, we were still operating under coverture laws.
242
00:27:53,333 --> 00:28:00,000
And so as America's art is being imagined, as the National Mall is being imagined, and we're deciding whose stories go there — of course we don't include women's
243
00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:05,454
Anna Laymon: stories, because women weren't seen as full people.
244
00:28:05,454 --> 00:28:10,909
We weren't seen as deserving of our own stories.
245
00:28:10,909 --> 00:28:16,363
But here we sit, right on the eve of America's 250th, with the opportunity to say women have always been here.
246
00:28:16,363 --> 00:28:21,818
We have always been contributing to our democracy.
247
00:28:21,818 --> 00:28:27,272
We have always been doing the work to make our communities, our towns, and our country better and stronger, and our stories deserve to be told on the National Mall.
248
00:28:27,272 --> 00:28:32,727
And here we sit on the eve of our 250th, finally able to make that change.
249
00:28:32,727 --> 00:28:38,181
Lenise Ligon: Anna mentioned coverture laws, and I want to pause for a second, because it's one of those things that sounds like an ancient word, but it really isn't.
250
00:28:38,181 --> 00:28:43,636
Coverture was the legal doctrine that indicated a woman ceased to exist as an independent person the moment she married.
251
00:28:43,636 --> 00:28:49,090
Property, her wages, her legal identity — all absorbed by her husband.
252
00:28:49,090 --> 00:28:54,545
This was still the law of the land in 1848 when women first gathered to demand the right to vote.
253
00:28:54,545 --> 00:29:00,000
That's the
254
00:29:00,000 --> 00:29:04,285
Lenise Ligon: world those women were standing up in.
255
00:29:04,285 --> 00:29:08,571
So — twenty years from now, and there's a little girl who's standing at the monument, what do you want her to feel?
256
00:29:08,571 --> 00:29:12,857
Anna Laymon: I want her to feel seen.
257
00:29:12,857 --> 00:29:17,142
I want her to feel like her country believes that she matters, and I want her to know that she can be anything and do anything.
258
00:29:17,142 --> 00:29:21,428
That is what I hope. And I think about that all the time, Lenise.
259
00:29:21,428 --> 00:29:25,714
As we build this monument, that's the thing I think about more than anything.
260
00:29:25,714 --> 00:29:30,000
I have a daughter. She's six.
261
00:29:30,000 --> 00:29:34,285
Think about what it's gonna be to take her — do you have children?
262
00:29:34,285 --> 00:29:38,571
Lenise Ligon: I have two. I have a thirteen-year-old daughter and a nineteen-year-old son.
263
00:29:38,571 --> 00:29:42,857
Anna Laymon: And that's perfection, right?
264
00:29:42,857 --> 00:29:47,142
Is she soon to be taking her eighth-grade trip to Washington, D.C.?
265
00:29:47,142 --> 00:29:51,428
Does her school do that?
266
00:29:51,428 --> 00:29:55,714
Lenise Ligon: Yes.
267
00:29:55,714 --> 00:30:00,000
Anna Laymon: Okay. So that moment, right —
268
00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:10,000
Anna Laymon: when we think about your daughter jumping on the bus and driving to Washington, D.C., eighth grade, just like millions of other eighth graders are gonna do, just like I did when I was in eighth grade — they are gonna go to Washington, D.C., the bus is gonna pull up to the National Mall, they're gonna open the doors, they're gonna kick those kids out, and they're gonna say, "Go, and come back in four hours." And right now, she's gonna walk around the National Mall, and she is not going to see herself represented.
269
00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:20,000
She is going to see beautiful stories, great stories, important stories — but she's not going to see women's stories.
270
00:30:20,000 --> 00:30:30,000
And I wish I could fix this before she takes her eighth-grade trip next year.
271
00:30:30,000 --> 00:30:40,000
I can't fix it that quickly, but her children are going to see a different National Mall.
272
00:30:40,000 --> 00:30:50,000
And I think about that all the time.
273
00:30:50,000 --> 00:31:00,000
I think about those little girls, and when they come and visit and see themselves represented because — and we say this a lot —
274
00:31:00,000 --> 00:31:10,000
Anna Laymon: as hard as this was to get passed through Congress, I can imagine that in our lifetimes, not only is this going to be the first monument dedicated to American women's history on the National Mall, but it is likely going to be the only one in our lifetimes, right?
275
00:31:10,000 --> 00:31:20,000
Because there are so many folks on Capitol Hill who are now going to look at each other and say, "Okay, great, we gave the women one.
276
00:31:20,000 --> 00:31:30,000
So now there's one.
277
00:31:30,000 --> 00:31:40,000
Good, we can check that box." But we know that women are so much more than a box check.
278
00:31:40,000 --> 00:31:50,000
We know that we weave a much deeper tapestry than that.
279
00:31:50,000 --> 00:32:00,000
And so what we know is that with this monument, with these two and a half acres, we have to make sure and make certain that every little girl who visits the National Mall sees herself in our monument, and we need to make sure that we tell all of our stories so that every little girl visits and sees herself and sees that our
280
00:32:00,000 --> 00:32:15,000
Anna Laymon: country cares about who she is and who she will be.
281
00:32:15,000 --> 00:32:30,000
And so fighting for that space, fighting for that two and a half acres — part of that fight was to make sure that we have the space to tell a big and beautiful story, so that no matter who you are or where you live, you come to Washington, D.C., and you visit our monument, and you feel inspired to go out and continue to make our country better and stronger, 'cause that's what democracy is, right?
282
00:32:30,000 --> 00:32:45,000
It's that pursuit of a more perfect union that we are constantly, always, and will forever be in pursuit of.
283
00:32:45,000 --> 00:33:00,000
And so what this monument can be and will be is a tribute to our foremothers and a celebration of our foremothers and what they did for us, and I hope an inspiration to every little girl who visits, so that she knows that her country cares about who she is and who she's gonna grow up to be.
284
00:33:00,000 --> 00:33:06,666
Lenise Ligon: Who was the woman who shaped you?
285
00:33:06,666 --> 00:33:13,333
Anna Laymon: You know, that's a beautiful question, and how lucky am I that I can't decide which one to mention?
286
00:33:13,333 --> 00:33:20,000
I think that we have to talk about our mothers.
287
00:33:20,000 --> 00:33:26,666
We owe so much to our mothers, and they receive so little in return, and that's okay.
288
00:33:26,666 --> 00:33:33,333
Women have come to be okay with that.
289
00:33:33,333 --> 00:33:40,000
When I think about this monument — we talked about our daughters and bringing our daughters there and standing there with our daughters.
290
00:33:40,000 --> 00:33:46,666
I have the same dream about bringing my mom and standing there with her, and what that will mean to her.
291
00:33:46,666 --> 00:33:53,333
Sorry, I don't mean to be emotional. But it is, right? It is.
292
00:33:53,333 --> 00:34:00,000
It's an extraordinary thing that we get to do.
293
00:34:00,000 --> 00:34:05,000
Anna Laymon: It's an extraordinary thing that we get to do, and we couldn't do it without them, without our mothers and our grandmothers.
294
00:34:05,000 --> 00:34:10,000
Lenise Ligon: And how wonderful that you'll get to share that with your mother and your daughter, and to say that you were part of it.
295
00:34:10,000 --> 00:34:15,000
Anna Laymon: Mm-hmm. It's a pretty remarkable thing.
296
00:34:15,000 --> 00:34:20,000
Lenise Ligon: Yeah.
297
00:34:20,000 --> 00:34:25,000
We're in the lightning round phase, but don't be afraid — this is the fun part.
298
00:34:25,000 --> 00:34:30,000
It's just basically quick-fire questions, and I'm going to give you a statement or a sentence, and I would like for you to finish it.
299
00:34:30,000 --> 00:34:35,000
Are you ready?
300
00:34:35,000 --> 00:34:40,000
Anna Laymon: I'm ready. I'm excited.
301
00:34:40,000 --> 00:34:45,000
Lenise Ligon: A woman's voice belongs in history when...
302
00:34:45,000 --> 00:34:50,000
Anna Laymon: She has something to say.
303
00:34:50,000 --> 00:34:55,000
Lenise Ligon: If you could add one woman to the National Mall tomorrow, who would it be?
304
00:34:55,000 --> 00:35:00,000
Anna Laymon: One woman. You know who jumped into my mind
305
00:35:00,000 --> 00:35:04,000
Anna Laymon: immediately — Ida B. Wells.
306
00:35:04,000 --> 00:35:08,000
Lenise Ligon: Book or a film — what piece of art about the women's history movement should everyone experience?
307
00:35:08,000 --> 00:35:12,000
Anna Laymon: A League of Their Own.
308
00:35:12,000 --> 00:35:16,000
I mean, that's not the women's suffrage movement, but that's women's history.
309
00:35:16,000 --> 00:35:20,000
We have to say A League of Their Own. We must.
310
00:35:20,000 --> 00:35:24,000
Lenise Ligon: I'm fine with that answer. We must.
311
00:35:24,000 --> 00:35:28,000
Anna Laymon: I love it.
312
00:35:28,000 --> 00:35:32,000
Lenise Ligon: What's a phrase or a belief that keeps you going when the work feels hard?
313
00:35:32,000 --> 00:35:36,000
Anna Laymon: Ugh. Can I show you?
314
00:35:36,000 --> 00:35:40,000
I mean — listen, I have this sitting right here on my desk.
315
00:35:40,000 --> 00:35:44,000
Lenise Ligon: Oh.
316
00:35:44,000 --> 00:35:48,000
Anna Laymon: And then I will describe it, 'cause I know that this is an audio podcast.
317
00:35:48,000 --> 00:35:52,000
So there are two phrases.
318
00:35:52,000 --> 00:35:56,000
I have a piece of carved wood, carved from a woodworking shop in Silver Hill, maybe three inches by three inches, and it has two sides to it.
319
00:35:56,000 --> 00:36:00,000
On one side, it says, "Miracles can happen." Someone I really admire said this to me when we were fighting to get the legislation passed to put this monument on the National Mall
320
00:36:00,000 --> 00:36:12,000
Anna Laymon: , when it felt impossible.
321
00:36:12,000 --> 00:36:24,000
There was one senator who was determined to not let this happen, and it felt like a mountain we were never gonna climb.
322
00:36:24,000 --> 00:36:36,000
And when this person said, "Miracles can happen," I wrote it on a sticky note, put it on my computer, and said it to myself every day — "Miracles can happen." I needed to believe in that miracle in order to be foolish enough to keep moving forward with what it took to make this happen.
323
00:36:36,000 --> 00:36:48,000
But we did believe, and that miracle did happen.
324
00:36:48,000 --> 00:37:00,000
And then on the other side of this little piece of wood is carved the four words that were said when the bill passed the Senate: "This bill has passed" — which beautifully was said by Senator Tina Smith, who was the one sitting at the dais right there
325
00:37:00,000 --> 00:37:04,285
Anna Laymon: on the Senate floor.
326
00:37:04,285 --> 00:37:08,571
The senators take turns wielding the gavel, and it just so happened that there was a woman behind the desk in that moment.
327
00:37:08,571 --> 00:37:12,857
So I keep this on my desk to remind myself that we can do hard things and that miracles can happen.
328
00:37:12,857 --> 00:37:17,142
Lenise Ligon: Every day.
329
00:37:17,142 --> 00:37:21,428
Anna Laymon: Every day.
330
00:37:21,428 --> 00:37:25,714
Lenise Ligon: Last question.
331
00:37:25,714 --> 00:37:30,000
For someone listening to this episode, once they've finished hearing it, what do you want them to do?
332
00:37:30,000 --> 00:37:34,285
Anna Laymon: I want them to visit womensmonument.org, and I want them to get inspired.
333
00:37:34,285 --> 00:37:38,571
I want them to send us their ideas for this monument — their ideas, their inspiration, their stories.
334
00:37:38,571 --> 00:37:42,857
And then I want them to submit their ideas and call a woman in their life who they love and tell her that they love her.
335
00:37:42,857 --> 00:37:47,142
That is what I want.
336
00:37:47,142 --> 00:37:51,428
Lenise Ligon: Thank you. Thank you.
337
00:37:51,428 --> 00:37:55,714
A woman's voice belongs in history when she has something to say.
338
00:37:55,714 --> 00:38:00,000
Anna said that in about two seconds, and I've been
339
00:38:00,000 --> 00:38:05,000
Lenise Ligon: thinking about that line ever since.
340
00:38:05,000 --> 00:38:10,000
Forty monuments, zero for women — but that's changing.
341
00:38:10,000 --> 00:38:15,000
And what's remarkable is that you can be part of it, too.
342
00:38:15,000 --> 00:38:20,000
Submit your monumental idea and tell us about your mother, your grandmother, a special friend, the woman who shaped you.
343
00:38:20,000 --> 00:38:25,000
Living It Up with Lenise has been a production of myself, Lenise Ligon, and FOX10, with music by Kendall Faust.
344
00:38:25,000 --> 00:38:30,000
I am so grateful to Anna for this conversation, and honestly, I'm grateful to Paige.
345
00:38:30,000 --> 00:38:35,000
She left the newsroom, built a new chapter, and still found her way to put a good story in front of me.
346
00:38:35,000 --> 00:38:40,000
That's a woman leaving a mark as well.
347
00:38:40,000 --> 00:38:45,000
As always — live boldly, live intentionally.
348
00:38:45,000 --> 00:38:50,000
Living it up isn't just a phrase, it's a decision.
349
00:38:50,000 --> 00:38:55,000
If this podcast struck a chord with you, or you learned something new, I would love to hear it.
350
00:38:55,000 --> 00:39:00,000
Leave a review, share it with a friend you think may benefit from it
351
00:39:00,000 --> 00:40:00,000
Lenise Ligon: as well. Until next time.
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:06,000
Lenise Ligon: It's a surprise.
2
00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:12,000
My latest episode came to me through an email I was not expecting from a woman I used to work with in the newsroom in Charlotte.
3
00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:18,000
Her name is Paige Tatum.
4
00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:24,000
She's one of those executive producers who ran a newsroom like it was hers.
5
00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:30,000
Sharp, decisive, the kind of woman who made everyone around her better.
6
00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:36,000
She left the news, moved to Boston, and found her way to the strategy side.
7
00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:42,000
And when she reached out to me about an idea, I knew immediately this was a story I wanted to share.
8
00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:48,000
She introduced me to Anna Laymon, a woman who lives right here on the Eastern Shore in Fairhope, and commutes to Washington, D.C.
9
00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:54,000
to lead some of the most significant monument projects in American history.
10
00:00:54,000 --> 00:01:00,000
Anna is the executive director of the Women's Suffrage National Monument Foundation, an organization tasked by Congress with
11
00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:05,454
Lenise Ligon: building the first monument on the National Mall dedicated to American women's history.
12
00:01:05,454 --> 00:01:10,909
There are 40 monuments on the National Mall. Zero are dedicated to women's history.
13
00:01:10,909 --> 00:01:16,363
This conversation moved me. I think it will move you too.
14
00:01:16,363 --> 00:01:21,818
So let's get into it. This is Living It Up with Lenise.
15
00:01:21,818 --> 00:01:27,272
Close your eyes and think of the many extraordinary women who have shaped your life.
16
00:01:27,272 --> 00:01:32,727
Can you picture their many faces? I did, and that list grew fast.
17
00:01:32,727 --> 00:01:38,181
Images coming to me at lightning speed.
18
00:01:38,181 --> 00:01:43,636
At the very top are my mother and grandmother.
19
00:01:43,636 --> 00:01:49,090
I learned so much from them about family, strength, community, and love.
20
00:01:49,090 --> 00:01:54,545
Their contributions were multidimensional, like all women's.
21
00:01:54,545 --> 00:02:00,000
It's those stories, those treasured memories, and that recognition
22
00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:05,000
Lenise Ligon: that Anna Laymon is working to bring forward as she leads the effort to build the first monument on the National Mall dedicated to American women's history.
23
00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:10,000
I'm curious, what kind of energy does it take to embark on something this big?
24
00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:15,000
After all, there are countless women's stories that together weave a rich tapestry of our history.
25
00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:20,000
How do you even begin to decide which stories are told first?
26
00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:25,000
Anna, I want to thank you for taking the time to speak with me.
27
00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:30,000
I can imagine how busy you are right now.
28
00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:35,000
Truly, it is a pleasure to speak with you through the podcast.
29
00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:40,000
Anna Laymon: Okay.
30
00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:45,000
Well, first, Lenise, let me say thank you for having me on and for helping us talk about the monument and diving into it.
31
00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:50,000
I really always enjoy getting to meet other women on the Eastern Shore and in Baldwin County who are leaders and who are invested in their community, and that's you.
32
00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:55,000
And so just the chance to meet you today is exciting for me.
33
00:02:55,000 --> 00:03:00,000
So thank you for having me on. So
34
00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:10,000
Anna Laymon: my name is Anna Laymon, and I live here in Baldwin County, and I have a really great job where I get to have a life here on the Eastern Shore, and then I also get to do this work in Washington, D.C., where I am working to build the first monument on the National Mall dedicated to American women's history.
35
00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:20,000
Lenise Ligon: Wow, so that's a dynamic, because you're commuting between Fairhope to D.C.
36
00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:30,000
What does it feel like to carry something with such significance from the Gulf Coast to a national level?
37
00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:40,000
Anna Laymon: I love how you put that, commuting between Fairhope and D.C., because that, I mean, that really is what my life is like.
38
00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:50,000
I really love that phrasing. It's really a joy.
39
00:03:50,000 --> 00:04:00,000
I mean, it is a special joy to get to have my sweet life here with my children and my family and then to also get to continue forward in this thing that I'm so passionate about, which is women's history and women's
40
00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:05,454
Anna Laymon: representation and women's leadership.
41
00:04:05,454 --> 00:04:10,909
And so to be able to do both and have both — I was born and raised in Tennessee, so for here, I am an outsider, right?
42
00:04:10,909 --> 00:04:16,363
I am not from Daphne. I am not from the Eastern Shore.
43
00:04:16,363 --> 00:04:21,818
I am from the South, but, you know, it's six hours away.
44
00:04:21,818 --> 00:04:27,272
That's not close enough, right?
45
00:04:27,272 --> 00:04:32,727
So getting to call Alabama home now is really a privilege for me, and I came down here because I had family here, and we wanted to be back close to family and close to home.
46
00:04:32,727 --> 00:04:38,181
My husband was in the Air Force for ten years, and so we moved around a lot.
47
00:04:38,181 --> 00:04:43,636
And so that's how we got to Washington, D.C., and we'd lived there for five years and loved it, loved every minute of it.
48
00:04:43,636 --> 00:04:49,090
But I was ready to be home, and I was ready to be with family.
49
00:04:49,090 --> 00:04:54,545
And so we decided to call Daphne and the Eastern Shore home.
50
00:04:54,545 --> 00:05:00,000
And so it's really just a joy for me to get to be able to be back in the South and be home, and then also get to commute to Washington, D.C., as you said, and to get to do that work as well
51
00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:05,454
Anna Laymon: and do something that for me is really about heart, right?
52
00:05:05,454 --> 00:05:10,909
It's about something that I care about deeply.
53
00:05:10,909 --> 00:05:16,363
That's a privilege — to get to live in a world where I can have both and be both things.
54
00:05:16,363 --> 00:05:21,818
Lenise Ligon: So I can hear your dedication to this cause.
55
00:05:21,818 --> 00:05:27,272
I'm curious, was there a moment, a person, a place that made you feel that this was your work to do?
56
00:05:27,272 --> 00:05:32,727
Anna Laymon: I love that question.
57
00:05:32,727 --> 00:05:38,181
A moment or a place that made me feel like this was my work to do.
58
00:05:38,181 --> 00:05:43,636
You know, I think that sometimes in life — and Lenise, I'd be curious for you if you feel this way also — I don't always see the road that is ahead of me, but when I look back, it all makes sense.
59
00:05:43,636 --> 00:05:49,090
And I feel very much that way about all of it, right?
60
00:05:49,090 --> 00:05:54,545
I don't always know how one thing is gonna lead to the next and to the next.
61
00:05:54,545 --> 00:06:00,000
But when I look in the rearview mirror, I can
62
00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:06,000
Anna Laymon: see how all of those puzzle pieces came together exactly how they were meant to.
63
00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:12,000
And I always knew that what I cared about was women's history.
64
00:06:12,000 --> 00:06:18,000
That is something I knew.
65
00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:24,000
But what I didn't know was how to make a difference and how I could take that thing that I cared so deeply about and do something with it.
66
00:06:24,000 --> 00:06:30,000
And I think what women especially hear a lot is, you know, "Oh, that thing that you care about, right, women's history — that's never gonna take you anywhere.
67
00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:36,000
You need to go to law school.
68
00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:42,000
You need to go to medical school..." Whatever it may be, right?
69
00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:48,000
And I always knew that there was good to do in the world with this thing that I cared about so much.
70
00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:54,000
And I just knew I was gonna figure it out, because I know that there are other people who care about the same thing, like you.
71
00:06:54,000 --> 00:07:00,000
And so
72
00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:07,500
Anna Laymon: I knew that there was a path, and I was just gonna have to find it, and maybe it's not the path that everybody travels, but I was gonna figure it out.
73
00:07:07,500 --> 00:07:15,000
And I think when it comes to women's history, you know, Lenise, I'm sure you have these moments in your life as well.
74
00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:22,500
I can look back and I can see — you know, I watched the movie A League of Their Own probably three hundred times, right?
75
00:07:22,500 --> 00:07:30,000
My grandparents lived in a trailer in East Tennessee in Sequatchie County, and they lived on top of a mountain.
76
00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:37,500
And there was nothing but woods and a TV and a VHS player, and they had, like, three movies, and one of those movies was A League of Their Own.
77
00:07:37,500 --> 00:07:45,000
I probably saw A League of Their Own three hundred times.
78
00:07:45,000 --> 00:07:52,500
Lenise Ligon: I don't know if I would care so deeply about women's history without that one movie.
79
00:07:52,500 --> 00:08:00,000
Anna Laymon: I think it is a remarkable thing to know that we can put things into the world and have no idea the ripple effects that those things are gonna have, but to believe
80
00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:07,500
Anna Laymon: that they're gonna make a difference.
81
00:08:07,500 --> 00:08:15,000
And that one movie, for me, led me into a world where I understood that women's stories mattered and that women's stories needed champions, and that I wanted to be one of those champions.
82
00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:22,500
Lenise Ligon: That's a great answer, Anna.
83
00:08:22,500 --> 00:08:30,000
I do totally relate to dots that are scattered everywhere, and then when you have an opportunity to reflect, seeing how they connect along the way.
84
00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:37,500
If only we had that perspective in the moment, because it can be difficult as you're trying to figure it out.
85
00:08:37,500 --> 00:08:45,000
But once you finally do, it is so refreshing.
86
00:08:45,000 --> 00:08:52,500
And I too saw A League of Their Own multiple times — we'll have to compare notes on our favorite characters.
87
00:08:52,500 --> 00:09:00,000
But for our listeners tuning in, curious about this, or for those tuning in for the first time, what is the Women's Suffrage
88
00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:06,000
Lenise Ligon: National Monument Foundation?
89
00:09:06,000 --> 00:09:12,000
Anna Laymon: So the Women's Suffrage National Monument Foundation is the organization that has been tasked by Congress and the President with building a new monument on the National Mall dedicated to American women's history.
90
00:09:12,000 --> 00:09:18,000
I think for most folks who have the privilege of visiting Washington, D.C., and getting to walk the National Mall, you have the honor and the joy of getting to see and experience America's stories.
91
00:09:18,000 --> 00:09:24,000
You know, you walk on the National Mall, and you will see the Washington Monument.
92
00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:30,000
You will see the Lincoln Memorial.
93
00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:36,000
You'll see Martin Luther King, and you'll get to stand in honor of the Vietnam War and the Vietnam veterans and World War II and the Korean War.
94
00:09:36,000 --> 00:09:42,000
It's often called America's front yard, right?
95
00:09:42,000 --> 00:09:48,000
And it is the most visited national park in the United States.
96
00:09:48,000 --> 00:09:54,000
The National Mall receives thirty-six million annual visitors.
97
00:09:54,000 --> 00:10:00,000
That's more visitors than Yosemite, Yellowstone, and Grand Canyon combined.
98
00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:06,666
Anna Laymon: And so when we think about America's front yard, it truly is the keeper of our national stories.
99
00:10:06,666 --> 00:10:13,333
And so we went to the National Mall, and we started to look around, and we realized that of the forty monuments, memorials, and statues on the National Mall, zero are dedicated to American women's history.
100
00:10:13,333 --> 00:10:20,000
We have twenty-two dedicated to singular men, ten dedicated to military and war history.
101
00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:26,666
The list goes on.
102
00:10:26,666 --> 00:10:33,333
There's even a memorial for the Boy Scouts on the National Mall.
103
00:10:33,333 --> 00:10:40,000
But of those forty, zero are dedicated to celebrating American women's contributions to our democracy.
104
00:10:40,000 --> 00:10:46,666
And — you report on the news every day — some problems are very hard to fix.
105
00:10:46,666 --> 00:10:53,333
Some problems, the path forward seems unclear at best and at worst impossible.
106
00:10:53,333 --> 00:11:00,000
This problem is one that can be fixed. We realized we can
107
00:11:00,000 --> 00:11:06,666
Anna Laymon: fix the National Mall.
108
00:11:06,666 --> 00:11:13,333
We can make this change, and we can make the tapestry of the stories that we're weaving on the National Mall better and stronger and more full, because the American story — women's history — is part of the American story.
109
00:11:13,333 --> 00:11:20,000
And so whose stories we tell on the National Mall, how we tell them — those choices matter.
110
00:11:20,000 --> 00:11:26,666
And so when we realized that this was something that we could change, we set a course to make that change.
111
00:11:26,666 --> 00:11:33,333
So it's taken a lot of years and a lot of work, but we're doing it.
112
00:11:33,333 --> 00:11:40,000
We have two pieces of legislation now that authorize us to build this monument and to build it on the National Mall.
113
00:11:40,000 --> 00:11:46,666
We have an incredible coalition of supporters across the aisle and across the country who are ready to see this thing happen.
114
00:11:46,666 --> 00:11:53,333
And it's just been a remarkable few years.
115
00:11:53,333 --> 00:12:00,000
Lenise Ligon: Yeah. You talk about authorization. You managed to get this monument
116
00:12:00,000 --> 00:12:07,500
Lenise Ligon: authorized by Congress. I'm curious, what was the authorization process like? Was it tedious?
117
00:12:07,500 --> 00:12:15,000
Was it difficult? Or did they say, "You know what? You're right"?
118
00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:22,500
Anna Laymon: I wish it had been that simple.
119
00:12:22,500 --> 00:12:30,000
You know, the thing is, women have had to fight for everything that we have in this democracy.
120
00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:37,500
That's the story of the suffrage movement, right?
121
00:12:37,500 --> 00:12:45,000
The story of the suffrage movement is the story of women's fight for equality in early America, in an American democracy.
122
00:12:45,000 --> 00:12:52,500
It was women and men standing together saying, "Our country will be better and fuller if everyone here has full rights and full privileges and full ability to participate in our democracy." And until 1920 — until the ratification of the 19th Amendment — women did not have the constitutional right to vote.
123
00:12:52,500 --> 00:13:00,000
And so the 19th Amendment truly changed
124
00:13:00,000 --> 00:13:08,571
Anna Laymon: everything for women. Now, that was a fight that some say took 75 years.
125
00:13:08,571 --> 00:13:17,142
I think you can say it took a whole lot longer than that.
126
00:13:17,142 --> 00:13:25,714
I think you can trace that back to the founding of this country, to that first moment when Abigail Adams wrote John Adams a letter in March of 1776 encouraging him to remember the ladies in this new government that he was forming, right?
127
00:13:25,714 --> 00:13:34,285
Those are the seeds of this movement of women standing together and saying, "We are a part of this country, and we are a part of this democracy." Now, it took decades and generations for women to earn the constitutional right to vote and for women to fight that fight for equality in our democracy.
128
00:13:34,285 --> 00:13:42,857
So it is really no surprise that when we got to Congress, there were folks who were prepared to stand in our way.
129
00:13:42,857 --> 00:13:51,428
There just were.
130
00:13:51,428 --> 00:14:00,000
We, though, were very, very lucky, because we had this incredible coalition of bipartisan lawmakers
131
00:14:00,000 --> 00:14:08,571
Anna Laymon: who stood up and stood next to each other and said, "We are gonna make this happen." And so we had folks in the House of Representatives, we had folks in the Senate, and we had people from both sides of the aisle who would normally — you would never see them working together on a bill, right?
132
00:14:08,571 --> 00:14:17,142
You would never see them coming together for a bill, but they came together for this because they understood how much this mattered.
133
00:14:17,142 --> 00:14:25,714
And we also — Lenise, I'm sure that you know this — but we also are the first organization to have every living first lady serving together as our honorary chairs, and that is a remarkable privilege.
134
00:14:25,714 --> 00:14:34,285
From Rosalynn Carter all the way to Mrs.
135
00:14:34,285 --> 00:14:42,857
Trump, we truly were blessed to have every living first lady come together and say, "This matters.
136
00:14:42,857 --> 00:14:51,428
Women's representation matters.
137
00:14:51,428 --> 00:15:00,000
Women's stories matter." And so they came together, and Rosalynn Carter, before she passed, was a part of this group, and we had all six living
138
00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:07,500
Anna Laymon: first ladies serving together as our honorary chairs. Now it is all five.
139
00:15:07,500 --> 00:15:15,000
And the statement that that makes, the signal that that sends — that this monument is for all of us, that this monument is all of our stories — that is an incredible thing.
140
00:15:15,000 --> 00:15:22,500
And we did that early on.
141
00:15:22,500 --> 00:15:30,000
That was back in 2022 that we brought all of the first ladies together to serve as our honorary chairs, and we did that for a reason.
142
00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:37,500
We did that because we knew that we would need their strength with us when we walked into Capitol Hill and said, "Hey, this monument belongs on the National Mall, and we need to make that happen." Because what we knew would happen if we didn't is what happens to women's stories and women's work so often, right, which is that it's pushed to the side.
143
00:15:37,500 --> 00:15:45,000
It's made to be a footnote.
144
00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:52,500
And we weren't gonna allow women's stories to be a footnote anymore.
145
00:15:52,500 --> 00:16:00,000
And so with the first ladies standing alongside of
146
00:16:00,000 --> 00:16:06,666
Anna Laymon: us, with this incredible coalition of bipartisan lawmakers that included Senator Katie Britt — that included lots of women from the South who stood up and said, "Women deserve space on the National Mall" — because of that, we were able to get these bills passed.
147
00:16:06,666 --> 00:16:13,333
Lenise Ligon: You're right, that unity needs to be visible, because it lets people know that this is something that is important and it's something that we all should get on board with.
148
00:16:13,333 --> 00:16:20,000
Where does the project stand?
149
00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:26,666
Anna Laymon: So that's a great question.
150
00:16:26,666 --> 00:16:33,333
So a monument building in Washington, D.C., is — no one will be surprised to hear this — not quick.
151
00:16:33,333 --> 00:16:40,000
It is a process, but it's a process for a reason.
152
00:16:40,000 --> 00:16:46,666
It's a process that's designed to make sure that there's time for public input.
153
00:16:46,666 --> 00:16:53,333
It's a process that's designed to be sure that Americans really have the opportunity to speak into what this will be.
154
00:16:53,333 --> 00:17:00,000
So where we are right now, we
155
00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:08,571
Anna Laymon: have the authorization to build the monument and to build it on the National Mall.
156
00:17:08,571 --> 00:17:17,142
In December of 2025, so just a few months ago at this point, we secured two and a half acres on the National Mall.
157
00:17:17,142 --> 00:17:25,714
So, Lenise, this is gonna be what women deserve, what women have been waiting for, and what women have earned, for sure.
158
00:17:25,714 --> 00:17:34,285
We have two and a half acres in the heart of the National Mall, tucked in between the World War II Memorial, the Vietnam Wall, and the Reflecting Pool, and it's gonna be extraordinary.
159
00:17:34,285 --> 00:17:42,857
So now that we have our site, we get to launch into the exciting, dynamic chapter of designing this monument.
160
00:17:42,857 --> 00:17:51,428
And we have actually just launched a first-of-its-kind program called Monumental Ideas, where we are encouraging every American from age five to ninety-five — whether you're in Citronelle or Chickasaw — it can be anything, right?
161
00:17:51,428 --> 00:18:00,000
Get on our website. Tell me
162
00:18:00,000 --> 00:18:06,666
Anna Laymon: about your mother. Tell me about your grandmother.
163
00:18:06,666 --> 00:18:13,333
Tell me what she meant to you and why it matters that her story gets told.
164
00:18:13,333 --> 00:18:20,000
If you have ideas of what this could be, of what it could look like — We had this great submission last week.
165
00:18:20,000 --> 00:18:26,666
We had someone submit a bench, and she drew a bench on a piece of paper, with one bench in front, and then layers of benches around the side.
166
00:18:26,666 --> 00:18:33,333
And what she wrote on it was that she wants to make sure that there's a space at this monument for multi-generational families to take photos, so that you can bring your children, you can bring your grandmother, and everyone has a place to gather and sit for a photo.
167
00:18:33,333 --> 00:18:40,000
And I — I'm getting chills just thinking about it.
168
00:18:40,000 --> 00:18:46,666
I just thought that was so beautiful, right? What a beautiful idea.
169
00:18:46,666 --> 00:18:53,333
And this woman, this grandmother who submitted this idea — isn't that an idea a grandmother would think of, right?
170
00:18:53,333 --> 00:19:00,000
Because she's thinking
171
00:19:00,000 --> 00:19:06,666
Anna Laymon: about every generation. She's thinking about her granddaughter. She's thinking about her sister.
172
00:19:06,666 --> 00:19:13,333
She is thinking about bringing her family to this site.
173
00:19:13,333 --> 00:19:20,000
And so for the first time in our nation's history — this has never happened before — Americans are invited to submit their ideas for a new monument on the National Mall, and to be a part of building that monument from the ground up, which is gonna take this from just another monument that you might visit on the National Mall to a part of your family's history.
174
00:19:20,000 --> 00:19:26,666
Right now, this is a family heirloom.
175
00:19:26,666 --> 00:19:33,333
This is something that you sat down and were a part of creating.
176
00:19:33,333 --> 00:19:40,000
And so if you can, get with your daughter, get with your sister, get with your son, because this history is for all of us.
177
00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:46,666
Lenise Ligon: What struck me about the Monumental Ideas campaign is what Anna said — that they're not just making history with what they build.
178
00:19:46,666 --> 00:19:53,333
They're determined to make history with how they build it.
179
00:19:53,333 --> 00:20:00,000
Public input in monument design essentially never happened. This
180
00:20:00,000 --> 00:20:05,454
Lenise Ligon: foundation is choosing to be different.
181
00:20:05,454 --> 00:20:10,909
And if you want to be a part of it, you can submit your ideas right now at womensmonument.org.
182
00:20:10,909 --> 00:20:16,363
I'll be sure to put that link in the show notes.
183
00:20:16,363 --> 00:20:21,818
Now, back to our conversation.
184
00:20:21,818 --> 00:20:27,272
I do want to explore more about the call to action for the ideas, but before we go down that road, I want to pick up on that submission that you received.
185
00:20:27,272 --> 00:20:32,727
I'm guessing it's those gems, but I don't want to speak for you.
186
00:20:32,727 --> 00:20:38,181
What has surprised you most about this endeavor?
187
00:20:38,181 --> 00:20:43,636
Anna Laymon: About the submissions, what surprised me most about this program?
188
00:20:43,636 --> 00:20:49,090
Oh, I have a list. I have been blown away by people's creativity.
189
00:20:49,090 --> 00:20:54,545
I have been mesmerized by folks' thoughtfulness, and my cup has felt so full seeing and reading the stories that have been submitted.
190
00:20:54,545 --> 00:21:00,000
When
191
00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:10,000
Anna Laymon: we first started this campaign, we thought that we would be getting lots of drawings of suffragists and folks that people would want to see — and we have been getting those, and those are extraordinary.
192
00:21:10,000 --> 00:21:20,000
I have also loved seeing the family stories, because there are the suffragists whose names we know — there's Susan B.
193
00:21:20,000 --> 00:21:30,000
Anthony and Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Mary McLeod Bethune — names that even if we don't know a lot about them, might ring some bells, and we might say, "Okay, yeah, we know a little bit about her." And this monument will be for them, and it will celebrate what they did and what they achieved in their leadership.
194
00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:40,000
But equally, it will be for the women whose names were never recorded and never written down, because we didn't think to write their names down, because women's history has never mattered all that much.
195
00:21:40,000 --> 00:21:50,000
But that's changing with this monument.
196
00:21:50,000 --> 00:22:00,000
And so the stories and the submissions that we've received about normal, everyday acts of courage and acts of grace that we
197
00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:07,500
Anna Laymon: see from women and have seen from women in this country since it has existed — those stories have filled my cup in a way I could not have expected.
198
00:22:07,500 --> 00:22:15,000
The quiet dignity of our grandmothers — those stories have been pretty extraordinary.
199
00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:22,500
Lenise Ligon: Yeah, that's a great way of saying it — quiet dignity.
200
00:22:22,500 --> 00:22:30,000
As women, we are innately nurturers, and we don't think to put ourselves on a list.
201
00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:37,500
This new generation coined the phrase "pick me," but I think those who came before us — it was more about doing the work so that others could be in the position to even be there in the first place.
202
00:22:37,500 --> 00:22:45,000
So I love that you are asking for that public input, which is rare, by the way, to have that in a monument design.
203
00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:52,500
What does that say in terms of how this foundation is choosing to do it differently?
204
00:22:52,500 --> 00:23:00,000
Anna Laymon: You know, I love how
205
00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:05,000
Anna Laymon: you put that.
206
00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:10,000
With this monument, we know that as we are seeking to honor history, we are also writing history.
207
00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:15,000
Lenise Ligon: Mm.
208
00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:20,000
Anna Laymon: So the story of how this monument got built will be told one day.
209
00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:25,000
It will.
210
00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:30,000
And we know that we are carrying a torch that is extraordinarily important.
211
00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:35,000
And so for us, we're making history not just with what we're building, but we are determined to make history with how we build it.
212
00:23:35,000 --> 00:23:40,000
And we know that women make change differently. Women make change through collective action.
213
00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:45,000
That is the story of the suffrage movement.
214
00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:50,000
The story of the suffrage movement isn't the story of one voice.
215
00:23:50,000 --> 00:23:55,000
It's the story of how loud our voices can be when there are millions added together.
216
00:23:55,000 --> 00:24:00,000
And so just like the suffragists taught us, when it comes to building this monument, we want a mosaic of voices to build
217
00:24:00,000 --> 00:24:12,000
Anna Laymon: it together, in a way that women have always and will continue to make change — and that is by doing things together and doing things through a collective voice.
218
00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:24,000
And so, you know — Lenise, you just made a really beautiful point about suffragists that I just want to add to and echo.
219
00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:36,000
There are extraordinary quotes and moments from the suffrage movement where you had women fighting for something that they knew they would never live to see.
220
00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:48,000
You have extraordinary examples of women who stood up and said, "I know that this isn't gonna happen in my lifetime, because I can see how long this fight is going to be.
221
00:24:48,000 --> 00:25:00,000
I can see it, but I'm going to do it anyway, because I know that one day my granddaughters will know I was here, and they will know that I stood up when I was asked to stand up." And
222
00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:08,571
Anna Laymon: that — the courage that it takes to give your life to something that you know you will not live to see — that's extraordinary.
223
00:25:08,571 --> 00:25:17,142
That's extraordinary courage that we now get to honor on our National Mall.
224
00:25:17,142 --> 00:25:25,714
Lenise Ligon: Absolutely.
225
00:25:25,714 --> 00:25:34,285
When you think about this collection of voices, is there a woman from the suffrage movement whose story you think just hasn't been told enough?
226
00:25:34,285 --> 00:25:42,857
Anna Laymon: I find that with these women, even the names we know, we actually know so little about them.
227
00:25:42,857 --> 00:25:51,428
The suffragists have an extraordinary strength, and their stories are extraordinary.
228
00:25:51,428 --> 00:26:00,000
If we think about going back to 1848 and what it took for women to stand together and say, "We deserve more from our country, and
229
00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:12,000
Anna Laymon: we are gonna ask for it, and we are gonna fight for it," what that took in 1848 — this is before the Civil War — I mean, what an extraordinary act of courage.
230
00:26:12,000 --> 00:26:24,000
In July of 1848, you had more than three hundred folks gather together in Seneca Falls, New York, and put down on paper for the first time their demands — their demands for equality, their demands for education, their demands to be seen and represented in their government, including the right to vote.
231
00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:36,000
That moment in July of 1848 is usually what folks attribute to be the first moment, the start of the organized suffrage movement.
232
00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:48,000
Imagine the courage to do that in 1848.
233
00:26:48,000 --> 00:27:00,000
And interestingly enough, that same month and that same year is when the first stone was laid on the Washington Monument
234
00:27:00,000 --> 00:27:06,666
Anna Laymon: on the National Mall.
235
00:27:06,666 --> 00:27:13,333
So the start of the National Mall begins with the Washington Monument, at the exact same moment that folks are gathering in Seneca Falls, New York, to say women deserve to be full participants in our democracy.
236
00:27:13,333 --> 00:27:20,000
It is no surprise that women's stories are not included on the National Mall.
237
00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:26,666
Women's stories weren't included on the National Mall because women weren't seen as full people.
238
00:27:26,666 --> 00:27:33,333
We still were operating under coverture laws in this country.
239
00:27:33,333 --> 00:27:40,000
Coverture laws are the laws left over that we brought over as colonies from England.
240
00:27:40,000 --> 00:27:46,666
Coverture laws are the laws that say a woman is first the property of her father, and then, when she marries, she becomes the property of her husband.
241
00:27:46,666 --> 00:27:53,333
In July of 1848, we were still operating under coverture laws.
242
00:27:53,333 --> 00:28:00,000
And so as America's art is being imagined, as the National Mall is being imagined, and we're deciding whose stories go there — of course we don't include women's
243
00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:05,454
Anna Laymon: stories, because women weren't seen as full people.
244
00:28:05,454 --> 00:28:10,909
We weren't seen as deserving of our own stories.
245
00:28:10,909 --> 00:28:16,363
But here we sit, right on the eve of America's 250th, with the opportunity to say women have always been here.
246
00:28:16,363 --> 00:28:21,818
We have always been contributing to our democracy.
247
00:28:21,818 --> 00:28:27,272
We have always been doing the work to make our communities, our towns, and our country better and stronger, and our stories deserve to be told on the National Mall.
248
00:28:27,272 --> 00:28:32,727
And here we sit on the eve of our 250th, finally able to make that change.
249
00:28:32,727 --> 00:28:38,181
Lenise Ligon: Anna mentioned coverture laws, and I want to pause for a second, because it's one of those things that sounds like an ancient word, but it really isn't.
250
00:28:38,181 --> 00:28:43,636
Coverture was the legal doctrine that indicated a woman ceased to exist as an independent person the moment she married.
251
00:28:43,636 --> 00:28:49,090
Property, her wages, her legal identity — all absorbed by her husband.
252
00:28:49,090 --> 00:28:54,545
This was still the law of the land in 1848 when women first gathered to demand the right to vote.
253
00:28:54,545 --> 00:29:00,000
That's the
254
00:29:00,000 --> 00:29:04,285
Lenise Ligon: world those women were standing up in.
255
00:29:04,285 --> 00:29:08,571
So — twenty years from now, and there's a little girl who's standing at the monument, what do you want her to feel?
256
00:29:08,571 --> 00:29:12,857
Anna Laymon: I want her to feel seen.
257
00:29:12,857 --> 00:29:17,142
I want her to feel like her country believes that she matters, and I want her to know that she can be anything and do anything.
258
00:29:17,142 --> 00:29:21,428
That is what I hope. And I think about that all the time, Lenise.
259
00:29:21,428 --> 00:29:25,714
As we build this monument, that's the thing I think about more than anything.
260
00:29:25,714 --> 00:29:30,000
I have a daughter. She's six.
261
00:29:30,000 --> 00:29:34,285
Think about what it's gonna be to take her — do you have children?
262
00:29:34,285 --> 00:29:38,571
Lenise Ligon: I have two. I have a thirteen-year-old daughter and a nineteen-year-old son.
263
00:29:38,571 --> 00:29:42,857
Anna Laymon: And that's perfection, right?
264
00:29:42,857 --> 00:29:47,142
Is she soon to be taking her eighth-grade trip to Washington, D.C.?
265
00:29:47,142 --> 00:29:51,428
Does her school do that?
266
00:29:51,428 --> 00:29:55,714
Lenise Ligon: Yes.
267
00:29:55,714 --> 00:30:00,000
Anna Laymon: Okay. So that moment, right —
268
00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:10,000
Anna Laymon: when we think about your daughter jumping on the bus and driving to Washington, D.C., eighth grade, just like millions of other eighth graders are gonna do, just like I did when I was in eighth grade — they are gonna go to Washington, D.C., the bus is gonna pull up to the National Mall, they're gonna open the doors, they're gonna kick those kids out, and they're gonna say, "Go, and come back in four hours." And right now, she's gonna walk around the National Mall, and she is not going to see herself represented.
269
00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:20,000
She is going to see beautiful stories, great stories, important stories — but she's not going to see women's stories.
270
00:30:20,000 --> 00:30:30,000
And I wish I could fix this before she takes her eighth-grade trip next year.
271
00:30:30,000 --> 00:30:40,000
I can't fix it that quickly, but her children are going to see a different National Mall.
272
00:30:40,000 --> 00:30:50,000
And I think about that all the time.
273
00:30:50,000 --> 00:31:00,000
I think about those little girls, and when they come and visit and see themselves represented because — and we say this a lot —
274
00:31:00,000 --> 00:31:10,000
Anna Laymon: as hard as this was to get passed through Congress, I can imagine that in our lifetimes, not only is this going to be the first monument dedicated to American women's history on the National Mall, but it is likely going to be the only one in our lifetimes, right?
275
00:31:10,000 --> 00:31:20,000
Because there are so many folks on Capitol Hill who are now going to look at each other and say, "Okay, great, we gave the women one.
276
00:31:20,000 --> 00:31:30,000
So now there's one.
277
00:31:30,000 --> 00:31:40,000
Good, we can check that box." But we know that women are so much more than a box check.
278
00:31:40,000 --> 00:31:50,000
We know that we weave a much deeper tapestry than that.
279
00:31:50,000 --> 00:32:00,000
And so what we know is that with this monument, with these two and a half acres, we have to make sure and make certain that every little girl who visits the National Mall sees herself in our monument, and we need to make sure that we tell all of our stories so that every little girl visits and sees herself and sees that our
280
00:32:00,000 --> 00:32:15,000
Anna Laymon: country cares about who she is and who she will be.
281
00:32:15,000 --> 00:32:30,000
And so fighting for that space, fighting for that two and a half acres — part of that fight was to make sure that we have the space to tell a big and beautiful story, so that no matter who you are or where you live, you come to Washington, D.C., and you visit our monument, and you feel inspired to go out and continue to make our country better and stronger, 'cause that's what democracy is, right?
282
00:32:30,000 --> 00:32:45,000
It's that pursuit of a more perfect union that we are constantly, always, and will forever be in pursuit of.
283
00:32:45,000 --> 00:33:00,000
And so what this monument can be and will be is a tribute to our foremothers and a celebration of our foremothers and what they did for us, and I hope an inspiration to every little girl who visits, so that she knows that her country cares about who she is and who she's gonna grow up to be.
284
00:33:00,000 --> 00:33:06,666
Lenise Ligon: Who was the woman who shaped you?
285
00:33:06,666 --> 00:33:13,333
Anna Laymon: You know, that's a beautiful question, and how lucky am I that I can't decide which one to mention?
286
00:33:13,333 --> 00:33:20,000
I think that we have to talk about our mothers.
287
00:33:20,000 --> 00:33:26,666
We owe so much to our mothers, and they receive so little in return, and that's okay.
288
00:33:26,666 --> 00:33:33,333
Women have come to be okay with that.
289
00:33:33,333 --> 00:33:40,000
When I think about this monument — we talked about our daughters and bringing our daughters there and standing there with our daughters.
290
00:33:40,000 --> 00:33:46,666
I have the same dream about bringing my mom and standing there with her, and what that will mean to her.
291
00:33:46,666 --> 00:33:53,333
Sorry, I don't mean to be emotional. But it is, right? It is.
292
00:33:53,333 --> 00:34:00,000
It's an extraordinary thing that we get to do.
293
00:34:00,000 --> 00:34:05,000
Anna Laymon: It's an extraordinary thing that we get to do, and we couldn't do it without them, without our mothers and our grandmothers.
294
00:34:05,000 --> 00:34:10,000
Lenise Ligon: And how wonderful that you'll get to share that with your mother and your daughter, and to say that you were part of it.
295
00:34:10,000 --> 00:34:15,000
Anna Laymon: Mm-hmm. It's a pretty remarkable thing.
296
00:34:15,000 --> 00:34:20,000
Lenise Ligon: Yeah.
297
00:34:20,000 --> 00:34:25,000
We're in the lightning round phase, but don't be afraid — this is the fun part.
298
00:34:25,000 --> 00:34:30,000
It's just basically quick-fire questions, and I'm going to give you a statement or a sentence, and I would like for you to finish it.
299
00:34:30,000 --> 00:34:35,000
Are you ready?
300
00:34:35,000 --> 00:34:40,000
Anna Laymon: I'm ready. I'm excited.
301
00:34:40,000 --> 00:34:45,000
Lenise Ligon: A woman's voice belongs in history when...
302
00:34:45,000 --> 00:34:50,000
Anna Laymon: She has something to say.
303
00:34:50,000 --> 00:34:55,000
Lenise Ligon: If you could add one woman to the National Mall tomorrow, who would it be?
304
00:34:55,000 --> 00:35:00,000
Anna Laymon: One woman. You know who jumped into my mind
305
00:35:00,000 --> 00:35:04,000
Anna Laymon: immediately — Ida B. Wells.
306
00:35:04,000 --> 00:35:08,000
Lenise Ligon: Book or a film — what piece of art about the women's history movement should everyone experience?
307
00:35:08,000 --> 00:35:12,000
Anna Laymon: A League of Their Own.
308
00:35:12,000 --> 00:35:16,000
I mean, that's not the women's suffrage movement, but that's women's history.
309
00:35:16,000 --> 00:35:20,000
We have to say A League of Their Own. We must.
310
00:35:20,000 --> 00:35:24,000
Lenise Ligon: I'm fine with that answer. We must.
311
00:35:24,000 --> 00:35:28,000
Anna Laymon: I love it.
312
00:35:28,000 --> 00:35:32,000
Lenise Ligon: What's a phrase or a belief that keeps you going when the work feels hard?
313
00:35:32,000 --> 00:35:36,000
Anna Laymon: Ugh. Can I show you?
314
00:35:36,000 --> 00:35:40,000
I mean — listen, I have this sitting right here on my desk.
315
00:35:40,000 --> 00:35:44,000
Lenise Ligon: Oh.
316
00:35:44,000 --> 00:35:48,000
Anna Laymon: And then I will describe it, 'cause I know that this is an audio podcast.
317
00:35:48,000 --> 00:35:52,000
So there are two phrases.
318
00:35:52,000 --> 00:35:56,000
I have a piece of carved wood, carved from a woodworking shop in Silver Hill, maybe three inches by three inches, and it has two sides to it.
319
00:35:56,000 --> 00:36:00,000
On one side, it says, "Miracles can happen." Someone I really admire said this to me when we were fighting to get the legislation passed to put this monument on the National Mall
320
00:36:00,000 --> 00:36:12,000
Anna Laymon: , when it felt impossible.
321
00:36:12,000 --> 00:36:24,000
There was one senator who was determined to not let this happen, and it felt like a mountain we were never gonna climb.
322
00:36:24,000 --> 00:36:36,000
And when this person said, "Miracles can happen," I wrote it on a sticky note, put it on my computer, and said it to myself every day — "Miracles can happen." I needed to believe in that miracle in order to be foolish enough to keep moving forward with what it took to make this happen.
323
00:36:36,000 --> 00:36:48,000
But we did believe, and that miracle did happen.
324
00:36:48,000 --> 00:37:00,000
And then on the other side of this little piece of wood is carved the four words that were said when the bill passed the Senate: "This bill has passed" — which beautifully was said by Senator Tina Smith, who was the one sitting at the dais right there
325
00:37:00,000 --> 00:37:04,285
Anna Laymon: on the Senate floor.
326
00:37:04,285 --> 00:37:08,571
The senators take turns wielding the gavel, and it just so happened that there was a woman behind the desk in that moment.
327
00:37:08,571 --> 00:37:12,857
So I keep this on my desk to remind myself that we can do hard things and that miracles can happen.
328
00:37:12,857 --> 00:37:17,142
Lenise Ligon: Every day.
329
00:37:17,142 --> 00:37:21,428
Anna Laymon: Every day.
330
00:37:21,428 --> 00:37:25,714
Lenise Ligon: Last question.
331
00:37:25,714 --> 00:37:30,000
For someone listening to this episode, once they've finished hearing it, what do you want them to do?
332
00:37:30,000 --> 00:37:34,285
Anna Laymon: I want them to visit womensmonument.org, and I want them to get inspired.
333
00:37:34,285 --> 00:37:38,571
I want them to send us their ideas for this monument — their ideas, their inspiration, their stories.
334
00:37:38,571 --> 00:37:42,857
And then I want them to submit their ideas and call a woman in their life who they love and tell her that they love her.
335
00:37:42,857 --> 00:37:47,142
That is what I want.
336
00:37:47,142 --> 00:37:51,428
Lenise Ligon: Thank you. Thank you.
337
00:37:51,428 --> 00:37:55,714
A woman's voice belongs in history when she has something to say.
338
00:37:55,714 --> 00:38:00,000
Anna said that in about two seconds, and I've been
339
00:38:00,000 --> 00:38:05,000
Lenise Ligon: thinking about that line ever since.
340
00:38:05,000 --> 00:38:10,000
Forty monuments, zero for women — but that's changing.
341
00:38:10,000 --> 00:38:15,000
And what's remarkable is that you can be part of it, too.
342
00:38:15,000 --> 00:38:20,000
Submit your monumental idea and tell us about your mother, your grandmother, a special friend, the woman who shaped you.
343
00:38:20,000 --> 00:38:25,000
Living It Up with Lenise has been a production of myself, Lenise Ligon, and FOX10, with music by Kendall Faust.
344
00:38:25,000 --> 00:38:30,000
I am so grateful to Anna for this conversation, and honestly, I'm grateful to Paige.
345
00:38:30,000 --> 00:38:35,000
She left the newsroom, built a new chapter, and still found her way to put a good story in front of me.
346
00:38:35,000 --> 00:38:40,000
That's a woman leaving a mark as well.
347
00:38:40,000 --> 00:38:45,000
As always — live boldly, live intentionally.
348
00:38:45,000 --> 00:38:50,000
Living it up isn't just a phrase, it's a decision.
349
00:38:50,000 --> 00:38:55,000
If this podcast struck a chord with you, or you learned something new, I would love to hear it.
350
00:38:55,000 --> 00:39:00,000
Leave a review, share it with a friend you think may benefit from it
351
00:39:00,000 --> 00:40:00,000
Lenise Ligon: as well. Until next time.
