[SARAH CUNNINGHAM] Good evening and welcome to Mandel Hall
My name is Sarah Cunningham and I'm the
executive director for leadership
involvement and the Student Life Centers
and the Assistant Dean of Students in
the University but probably most
importantly tonight I'm the number one
fan of the Monumental Women Project.
We would like to welcome you to
the Monumental Women's Project unveiling
unveiling ceremony for the bronze-
for the bronze bust, I'm a little
excited so let me just be okay with this.
I know the excitement this is a really
big deal tonight so we would like to
welcome you to the Monumental Women's
Project unveiling ceremony for the
bronze bust of Dr. Georgiana Simpson the
event this evening. We are delighted to
have so many students, administrators,
faculty members and family members in
the audience to celebrate this historic
day honoring the important contributions
of Dr. Simpson. The Mandel Hall portion
of the program will include an array of
speakers, the unveiling of Dr. Simpson's
bust followed by a reception in the
McCormick Tribune lounge. You can
participate in the conversation tonight
by using the hashtag #SimpsonMWP
Monumental Women Project is happy
to announce that in just a few days the
Department of Germanic Studies at the
University of Chicago will hang the
graduation portrait of Dr. Georgiana
Rose Simpson in the department's seminar
room. Let's give a round of applause for that.
[Applause]
The Monumental Women Project is honored
to welcome the Provost of the University.
Daniel Diermeier serves as the 13th
Provost of the University of Chicago.
As the Provost Diermeier has a
responsibility for academic and research
programs across the University and
oversees the University's budget prior
to his appointment as Provost Diermeier
was the Dean of the Harris School of
Public Policy from 2014 to 2016 he is
also the David Lee Shillinglaw
Distinguished Service Professor at the
Harris School and the college in a
member of the board of the University of
Chicago Medical Center, the board of
governors for Argonne National
Laboratory and the board of trustees for NORC.
Daniel Diermeier is a fellow of
the American Academy of the Arts and
Sciences the Guggenheim Foundation and
the Canadian Institute of Advanced Research
His teaching and research focuses on the formal political
theory political institutions the
interactions of business and politics
text analytics public perception as well
as crisis and reputation management.
He has published book two books in over 90
research articles and academic journals
mostly in the fields of political
science, economics and management but
also in other areas ranging from
linguistics sociology and psychology to
computer science and applied mathematics.
Please join me in welcoming Provost
Daniel Diermeier to the stage
[Applause]
[DANIEL DIERMEIER] Well good evening to all of you this is
a wonderful evening and thank you for
the kind introduction the members of the
University of Chicago community and
guests welcome to the University of
Chicago as we commemorate one of the
first African-American women to receive
a PhD in the United States and the first
to achieve this honor from the
University of Chicago. Diversity and
inclusion are core values of the
University of Chicago and since
University's inception we have always
issued quotas or barriers to admissions
based on race ethnicity religion or
other characteristics. That is
particularly fitting that University of
Chicago would bestow one of his first
PhDs in the United States to an
African-American woman.
It gives me particular pride today that
this bust was conceived off and
commissioned by two University of
Chicago students Asya Akca and Shae Onomijo
were with us tonight let's give a
round of applause they deserve it.
[Applause]
It's time for some pictures absolutely
together they apply to and we awarded
funding from the student government's
Uncommon Fund and then they raised
additional funding from a whole variety
of different of sources to make
sure that we can Commission the bust and
then actually Commission the bust of
Georgiana Simpson from a local Chicago
artist. This tremendous accomplishment
epitomizes the University of Chicago's
culture taking on difficult problems
with tenacity and determination to see
them to their end. Finally as the chief
academic officer of the University of
Chicago I want to acknowledge the
academic achievement of Georgiana Simpson.
Georgiana Simpson enrolled at the
University of Chicago in 1907 when few
universities would admit a woman of color.
Her time here at Chicago was not easy.
She faced racial segregation in
residential housing on campus and was
one of only a handful of
African-Americans on campus. Nevertheless
she received three degrees from the
University of Chicago an AB a bachelor in
Germanic languages in literature in 1911.
An AM in Germanic philology and then
at age 55 she completed her dissertation
"Hera's Conception Does Fault" I can
pronounce this properly and received her
PhD from the Department of Germanic
languages and literatures on June 14
1921 thanks to our students members of
the Hyde Park community and the hard work of
Dr. Simpson University of Chicago will
now have a permanent reminder of the
bravery and impact of this scholar.
It is now my great pleasure to introduce Dr.
Melissa Gilliam. Professor Gilliam is
Vice Provost for Academic Leadership
Advancement and Diversity and she will
say a few things about Dr. Georgina
Simpson scholarship thank you very much
[SARAH CUNNINGHAM] Thank You Provost Diermeier.
In just one second we're gonna welcome Melissa
back to the stage but we wanted to do is
give you a little bit of context to show
you the original video that the women
actually submitted for the project for
the Monumental Women Project and
it's important to let you know that the
original video was sent to the young
common fund members of student
government and in February of 2006 they
were awarded a $9,500 seed grant the
largest grant ever awarded to a student
group in the Uncommon Fund project so
sit back and enjoy the video and then we
all welcome Melissa back to the stage to
share her remarks with us.
[Music]
[ASYA AKCA] It really only takes one quick
meal in Hutchinson Commons to see the lack of
females honored in our public art and
monuments on campus. The project that Shea
and I have proposed to the Uncommon Fund
is an attempt to fix that intrinsic
problem that our campus has right now.
[SHAE ONOMIJO] I think the project the
Monumental Women is very important or to honor women such
as Dr. Georgiana Simpson and Marion Talbot.
These two women work together to
make sure that women like myself in
Asya can have the change that we want
and the change that we deserve.
[ASYA AKCA] It really is time to bring to life the
accomplishments and contributions of
influential UChicago females who have
passed through the halls of our
University
[Applause]
[SARAH CUNNINGHAM] So that's where this all started.
Now I'm gonna do our introduction for
our wonderful Melissa Gilliam as Vice
Provost for Academic Leadership
Advancement and Diversity.
Melissa supports the Provost and activities
relating to faculty development and
institutional diversity Melissa oversees
leadership development for departmental
chairs and faculty at each academic rank,
leads initiatives to increase
accountability and measurable progress
in creating a diverse inclusive and an
equitable campus. She supports the
academic development of faculty as well
as the work-life integration and
provides infrastructure and training in
recruitment and retention.
Melissa is a professor of obstetrics and
gynecology and pediatrics at the
University of Chicago she is the
Ellen H. Block Professor of Health and Justice and
a member of the National Academy of
Medicine. In November of 2012 she
launched the Center for
interdisciplinary inquiry and innovation
in sexual and reproductive health CI3 at
the University of Chicago. Melissa also has a
bachelor's degree in English from Yale
University, a master's degree in
Philosophy and Politics from Oxford
University her medical degree from
Harvard Medical School and a Master of
Public Health degree from the University
of Illinois Chicago. Please join me in
welcoming Dr. Gilliam to the stage.
[Applause]
[MELISSA GILLIAM] Dear Asya and Shae thank you for making
this moment happen.
Thank you for reintroducing the
University of Chicago to Dr. Georgiana
Simpson in many ways her story has
already become more she is our evidence
of our commitment to diversity. We
commonly say the University of Chicago
awarded one of the country's first PhDs
to an African-American woman. It is a
remarkable history that a University
would defy custom and educate a woman
and a woman of color it's remarkable.
However that story is always told from
the perspective of the University we
have failed to tell the story from Dr.
Simpson's perspective until now thank
you both for reanimating this story and
bringing Dr. Georgiana Simpson back to
the University of Chicago. Thank you for
reminding us that it is her achievement.
It's her achievement and it is her story
somehow its meaning has begun to fade
with wear and tear becoming a mantra or
a phrase for speeches but not fully
capturing the reality of her experience.
Yet through the two of you the story
becomes a person. I share the feeling that
so many of us must feel that somehow I
know her. I too am a native of Washington,
native Washingtonian so know of Dunbar
High School where she taught my
grandmother who was 15 years Dr.
Simpson's junior was also a teacher and
like Dr. Simpson was barred from
fulfilling her potential due to racial
segregation. Like Dr. Simpson my sister
my mother and I pledged Alpha Kappa
Alpha as a way of connecting to a
tradition while being educated in
predominantly white schools. Yet perhaps
her story seems familiar because like so
many of us who are perhaps here today in
the audience she occupied both an
insider as well as an outsider status
she had the ability and the gifts
to be admitted and yet did not fully
belong. That sense of being allowed
inside but sometimes feeling quite
outside is familiar to many of us. Some
of us are outsiders because of our age
erase our tenure status our nationality
our religion ethnicity our ability
status our gender or whether we have
documentation. Tonight as we think of her
heroism as a student who must have been
very alone in her classes her long walks
across campus her commutes home, thinking
of her makes her own sense of being an
outsider feels significantly less harsh.
Dr. Simpson reminds us of the power of
education and the gift of the
universities such as ours bestow the
University of Chicago has never blocked
admission based on identity has never
had quotas nor laws prohibiting a group
of people from entering and it has held
this value since its inception, but the
story of Dr. Simpson tells us that
opening the doors is not enough. Last
year I left my full-time faculty
position to start a University-level
initiative on diversity and inclusion.
It was explained to me that diversity and
inclusion is a core value of the
University and while at times we have
lived up to it, at other times we have
fallen quite short. The leadership asked
of the University ask how would we do
this given our size and decentralized
nature, my answer was that we had to rely
on the local leadership of our staff our
faculty and our students. The Monumental
Women's Project epitomizes local
leadership monuments are critically
important for diversity and inclusion
they demonstrate what a society values
and brings history to the fore. If you do
not believe me think of the recent
events in Charlottesville. Monuments
matter but they are particularly
important for changing institutions and
changing norms. A monument of an African
American scholar of German studies, de-biases our minds.
It challenges stereotypes and it forces
us to rethink and reconsider our common
narratives about who creates scholarship
and about the history of the University
of Chicago. To eradicate biases we need
to challenge stereotypes we do this by
seeing evidence that contrasts with our
firmly held beliefs.
Asya and Shae your vision and
generosity have allowed us to do just
that, thank you.
[Applause]
[SHAE ONOMIJO] Good evening I want to thank Dr. Gilliam
for her time and investment in our
project as well as her wonderful remarks
my name is Shae Onomijo and I'm the
co-founder of the Monumental Women Project.
[Applause]
While researching the intricacies of Dr.
Georgiana Simpsons personal life
we found that Dr. Simpson never married
nor had children as such a momentous
occasion like this who would have liked
to have Dr. Simpsons family here with us
today. However we are not discouraged
because Dr. Simpson was a member of
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated
the first sorority established by
African-American college women you all
are her family.
We are so honored to have all of you
here today we are grateful to have Miss
Dorothy Buchanan Wilson the 29th
International President of Alpha Kappa
Alpha Sorority Incorporated Miss Kathy
Walker Steele the Central Regional
Director and Miss Bertina Power Stewart
the president of Theta Omega chapter and
all of the members of Alpha Kappa Alpha
Sorority Incorporated. Now it is with
great honor that I introduce Miss Loann J Honesty King.
Loann Honesty King is a retired vice president of City
Colleges of Chicago Kennedy College.
She's a member of Theta Omega chapter of
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated
and the central region and Theta Omega
chapter historian King is a former
Central Regional Director international
treasurer and recipient of the founders
Graduate Service Award she's the author
of three editions of the history of
Central Region pledge to remember and a
history of the Alpha Kappa Alpha
educational advancement foundation
philanthropy in perpetuity. Throughout
her life King has been committed to community service.
She's a founding member and life
director of the African-American legacy
Board of Chicago Community Trust and a
member of the advisory board for Urban
Prep academies. She and her husband of 56
years Paul J King Jr. lived on
Chicago's South Side and has two adult
sons Paul J King the third and Timothy J
King. Please help me in welcoming Miss
Loann J Honesty King to the stage.
[Applause]
[LOANN J HONESTY KING] Thank You Shae for that introduction,
Provost Diermeier, Vice Provost Gilliam
and all assembled good evening.
To Shea and Asya thanks to each of you
for giving me the opportunity to be a
part of this evening's program.
The women of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority
Incorporated have come this evening from
far and wide to witness this historic
event and to pay tribute to our own Dr.
Georgiana Rose Simpson. I know that Shea
did introduce a few but I would like to
please ask that you bear with me
and as I recognize those sores again I
would ask that you stand and wave at the
audience as your name is called.
Bertino Power Steward president and
partner in this endeavor Theta Omega chapter.
My lovely central regional
director Kathy Walker Steele
who is here this evening with us from
East st. Louis Missouri. I was expecting
and I can't see if they arrived former
central regional directors Pamela Bates Porch
and Giselle Casanova also from the
Alpha Kappa Alpha corporate office
executive director Cynthia Howell deputy
deputy director Nicole Barrett
membership director Patricia Watkins,
assistant Membership Director Patricia Owner.
We were also anticipating the
Crystal Tibs who is our
exhibit and Special Collections
committee from Detroit Michigan. I
[Applause]
I understand that I saw a Carol Moseley Braun
also in the audience.
To give you an idea of just how we
support each other I asked that all
Alpha Kappa Alpha women in the room please stand
And now the aka University
of Chicago and the Monumental Women's
Project connection. In October of last
year I received word that two University
of Chicago students Shea and Asya had
been awarded a grant to recognize and
honor Dr. Georgiana Rose Simpson an
Alpha Kappa Alpha woman who had been
initiated into Beta Chapter in Chicago, IL.
I wanted to reach out to these
students to congratulate them and to
find out what Theta, Omega and Beta
chapters could do to help. I spoke with
two Beta Chapter members Nadia Griffin
chapter president at the time and
Elizabeth Arrott Eva who were attending
the University of Chicago and asked if
they could please put me in contact with
their fellow students. I pause here to
mention that both Elizabeth and Nadia
graduated this past year with honors
from the University of Chicago.
[Applause]
These young ladies provided me with the
contact information and following a
series of emails and calls, a meeting was
held with Shaa, Asya,
director Jennifer Kennedy, Mrs. Powers Stewart
and myself to discuss the
Monumental Women's Project following
several meetings and communications
Tonight is a result of that cooperative effort.
When Georgiana Simpson came to the
University of Chicago in 1907 she was
housed in Green Hall until racism reared
its ugly head and several white female
residents protested Simpson being
allowed to live in their dorm and a
number of them moved out in protest.
The details of this story are in your program.
Needless to say Simpson had to move out
of the dorm, and like other black students
at the time took correspondence and
summer courses to achieve her degree.
Her persistence, determination and fortitude
prevailed and she was awarded a BA in
German Language and Literature in 1911.
She returned to Washington DC that same
year and began teaching at M Street
school and later Dunbar High School.
During the time the Simpson was in
Chicago earning her bachelor's degree
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority was
established in January 1908
on the campus of Howard University and
incorporated in the District of Columbia
in 1913. Following the sororities
incorporation Alpha Kappa Alpha began
spreading out and establishing chapters
across the country. The first chapter
established after the sororitie's
incorporation and the
second chapter of this international
sorority was Beta chapter in Chicago, IL.
Chartered as a citywide chapter
but it had a strong identification with
the University of Chicago, why you ask
because all five charter members were
students at the University of Chicago.
An identity that was seaming it with the
installation of a marker and a planting
of an oak tree in recognition of Beta
chapters hundredth year anniversary on
the University of Chicago campus, the oak
tree and plaque is located in the lawn
off the southeast corner of Ida Noyes Hall.
In 1917 still in a segregated
environment poisoned with racial and
gender discrimination and the bitter
taste of being put out of the University
of Chicago dorms still in her mouth
Simpson decided to return to the
University to pursue a master's degree
and ultimately a PhD. This time on her
arrival on campus
she found fellow students of
African-American descent who provided
her a source of friendship and unity.
She joined Alpha Kappa Alpha in 1917 and
remain an adviser and his source of
inspiration to all the members of Beta
Chapter who she met daily on campus.
Georgiana went on to earn her master's
in 1920 and in the Department of
Germanic and Romance and her PhD in 1921.
That same year she returned to
Washington DC but before she left
Beta Chapter declared emeritus
membership status in Beta Chapter.
Such a status did not exist in the sorority but
Beta Chapter wanted to make sure that
the members to follow will always remember
Dr. Georgiana Anna Rose Simpson would
always be remembered as an initiative in
Beta Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha
Sorority Incorporated. Dr. Simpson is and
represents the epitome of an Alpha Kappa
Alpha woman and we are proud that her
legacy will be kept alive and stands in
remembers to all women of color that
regardless of the obstacles with faith,
tenacity and a determined pursuit of
your dreams, you too can accomplish
anything. Thank you.
[Applause]
[SARAH CUNNINGHAM] Thank you again for your kind remarks
remarks Ms King. Next I will be introducing
someone who has played a very special
role in the evolution of the Monumental
Women Project the sculptor of the bronze
bust of Dr. Georgiana Simpson, Preston Jackson.
Preston Jackson is a professor emeritus of sculpture at the
School of the Art Institute in Chicago
and the owner of the Side View gallery
home of the Contemporary Art Center in
Peoria Illinois.
He creates bronze figurative work and
monumental steel and cast bronze
sculptures as well as two-dimensional pieces.
Preston Jackson's works work deals
with his concerns about social
interactions between various groups of
people and is geared toward the
betterment of our society. The intent of
the work is to cause the viewer to see
things that they may not have considered before or
perhaps to examine them from a different
more universal perspective. Even if the
audience does not see things from his
viewpoint he hopes to trigger some
recognition of his intention and allow
viewers to address it on their own time and terms.
Preston's recent sculptures
deal with the subject of our history
both precise depictions of well-known
historical figures as well as innovative
portrayals of individuals whose lives,
though unfamiliar to us, are part of our
history that he wants us to learn he
seeks to honor the many people who have
been left out of the visual history of
our country and to tell their stories in
an effective manner that is appropriate of all.
He has been selected as the 2014
Southern Illinois University
Distinguished Alumni, was awarded two
regional Emmys and was in 1998 laureate
of the Lincoln Academy of Illinois
please help me in welcoming Preston to the stage.
[Applause]
[PRESTON JACKSON] Well I don't have much to say but you
know I'm in the company of really
wonderful people that have achieved a lot. Carol Mosley is out here.
And Sam Gilliam's daughter of all people,
I say that with this kind of smile on my
face because Sam it's one of those
artists that have definitely paid his
dues, gone through a lot and you know
well-known I just can't help but tell
you the story about meeting Sam I
invited him to my studio in Peoria
Illinois and I wanted him to see my work
because I had followed him since I was
in high school. So he walks in and he
looks around I had my work set up took
me a day and a half to set it up and he
walks to my junk pile all of my scrap
steel all kinds of shredded things and
he said these aren't great and then he left. [LAUGHTER]
Anyway it's an honor it's an honor
to be here and to be a part of this.
The young women who visited my
studio you know I wanted to act young
and fast and cool you know, in front of
them trying to impress them, but they
were on it you know and they kept to the
facts when I was coming I was trying to
be funny but they they told me
specifically what they wanted described
in detail and the measurements and so
forth and almost designed it right there
in the room. So I did everything they wanted,
I also increased the size of the piece
and I built the the neck piece the
podium kind of thing that it stands on, so
I didn't want you know them to come back
and say hey we want something else but anyway.
I want to thank them for coming
to this and the two young ladies who are
responsible for this you did a great job
and thank you, thank you all.
[Applause]
[SARAH CUNNINGHAM] Thank you again Preston as he is really
the third piece to this Monumental Women Project
as the project would not be here
without his vision and his skills so
next I would like to do a little
introduction for Jen Kennedy who is the
director for community development and
operations in the Reynolds Club the
Student Life Center here at the
University of Chicago she graduated from
the University of Chicago in 2002
beginning her career on campus very
soon after during that time Jen has
served as an advisor to dozens, if not
hundreds, of student organizations,
supervisor to hundreds of student
employees, a host to countless University
traditions in a variety of campus venues
a mentor a coach a confident and a
steward for this project. Jen has served
as the primary project advisor for the
Monumental Women Project since its inception.
Supporting Asya and Shea with
carrying their mission and honoring
influential women across the
University of Chicago. Please join me in
welcoming Jen Kennedy of the stage. [Applause]
[JENNIFER KENNEDY] Good evening. When two undergraduate women
came to my office in early 2016 to share
their vision for the Monumental Women Project
I had no idea how much the
project would change me personally and professionally
My role on campus, as Sarah mentioned, is twofold as a member
of the Center for Leadership and Involvement,
I work closely with students
to create meaningful involvement
opportunities during their time on campus.
In my role as steward of the
Reynolds Club Student Life Center I work
to create an inclusive environment where
campus community sees themselves and
feels as though they belong.
Obviously the Monumental Women Project weaves
these two concepts together beautifully.
Asya and Shae as you are well informed
now got their original seed funding from
the student government Uncommon Fund
before their money was even deposited in
the account which you may not know the
two women had already lined up about two
dozen meetings across campus to
create awareness and to continue
fundraising for a monument in honor of
Georgiana Simpson. Close to three years
over 2,000 emails
I know I've counted and $50,000 later we
have these two to thank for an impactful
addition to our campus the combination
of Shae's insatiable focus
Asya's passion made the Monumental
Women Project practically unstoppable.
As soon as I met Shae and spoke with her
about the project and her role in the
leadership team I knew she'd be a
pleasure to work with. Shae has the
ability to keep the larger picture of a
project in mind and not get bogged down
or distracted when things don't go her way.
Over the course of the project there
have been a variety of roadblocks yet
Shae has literally never deterred when
others might have given up or at least
taken a few days break and to regroup
and rest Shae doubles down on her
dedication to the project and has shown
she can literally create something from nothing.
By being such an advocate for the legacy
of Georgiana Simpson she implores those
around her to explore the story under
the history we know. Asya has infectious
enthusiasm for the project and her
inclusive nature means that she
continuously gains confidants and
supporters as she promotes the project
and Simpson's legacy. It's obvious to
anyone speaking with her that Asya has
a tremendous capacity for compassion and
an incredible integrity while earning
both her bachelor's and master's degree in four years.
Asya has still found time to do this
project and engage campus and local
media through an op-ed just today in the
Chicago Maroon, two primetime interviews
with WBZ and others. Spreading the positive
message of Monumental Women by asking
those around her to consider public art
and the depiction of women she pushes
them to prioritize women and girls and
the accomplishments of many that may
otherwise go unremembered. As the months
passed there were hurdles to
overcome given the sheer scope of the undertaking.
Many times while meeting in
my office talking through an issue that
might prevent us from completing the
project one of the three of us would
check all the others would say anything
worth doing will be hard. Shae and Asya
taught me the valuable lesson of letting
go of ego so that you can honor legacy
and I hope I taught them a little bit
about self-care, drink some water, and
remembering to go to class even on the
day of your unveiling. Over the past few
months we've witnessed a national
dialogue about the art in our
communities after working so closely
with the Monumental Women I don't know
if I'll be able to walk past another
piece of public art without thinking
more deeply about that piece. Who was the
artist? What about the stories of those who funded
celebrated the work? What about those who
commissioned it? I'm proud today to
celebrate not only Dr. Simpson but also
these two women who have changed the
face of our campus. Through their
dedicated work Asya and Shea have not
only honored the memory of an amazing
woman but also helped us create an
environment where members of the
community can clearly see themselves and
invites us all to think more deeply.
So thank you to Shea aunt Asya, my very own
monumental women.
[Applause]
[ASYA AKCA] We would like to take this moment to
thank Jen Kennedy our project advisor.
We would not be here today I can promise
you without Jen we really wouldn't.
Ever since we received our first Uncommon
Fund grant she has been there for us
supporting us in every possible way
again we cannot thank you enough Jen
thank you I'm gonna let Shae say a few
words as well but you really kept this
team together through it all and
really none of us would be here without
you, so thank you so much thank.
[SHAE ONOMIJO] You talk about an open-door policy.
I'm just so grateful to have Jen not only as an
advisor for one of my favorite mentors
here on campus. There's been multiple
times where I just walk into Jen's
office just either frustrated or tired
or just quite frankly nervous about
everything that we've worked on here tonight.
And from the bottom of my heart,
man I shouldn't cry, from the bottom of my
heart I just thank you so much because
you know at this point Jen's office is
my office so thank you so much
[Applause]
[SARAH CUNNINGHAM] Pretty lucky person to work with such
talented people every day. So next I'd
like to introduce Asya the part of the duo.
Asya is a dual degrees student
pursuing her master's degree in
international relations and bachelor's
degree in political science. She was born
in Istanbul Turkey and grew up in
Louisville Kentucky.
This past summer she interned for the
State Department at the US mission to
NATO and prior to that at the Hudson
Institute in Washington DC.
Asya's passion for women's issues was
first developed in her high school years
when she participated in Louisville
girls leadership. On campus she sits on
the Institute of Politics Student
Advisory Board as the communications
chair and works at the Chicago Project
on Security and Threats. She previously
served on the editorial board of
The Gate, Institute of Politics undergraduate
political review and as a class of 2018
representative on student government.
Asya's academic interests are primarily
in security in war studies with a focus
on the Middle East. Please join me in
welcoming Asya up to the podium.
[Applause]
[ASYA AKCA] First and foremost I would like to thank
all of you for joining us for this
monumental occasion to honor an
incredible person whom Shae and I have
come to respect and admire so much.
Over the course of the past few years we have
worked to find the most appropriate way
to bring to life Dr. Georgiana Simpsons
accomplishments on campus. Her life
embodies traits that we as members of
the University of Chicago community
value, perseverance, intellectual
curiosity, a commitment to equality it is
this collection of qualities that makes
Dr. Simpson a role model for all.
In the early days of the project we asked:
What kind of piece are we envisioning?
Where could we place a monument?
Indoors? Outdoors? Who would be the artist of this piece?
And how do we two individuals who know
absolutely nothing about the art world
go about attempting this project and
pursuing it. We quickly learned that no
task is possible without a strong team.
Ideas are only promising when you have
others to support them and bring their
opinions to the table. Our team, our trio
as you have heard, will always hold a
special place in my heart.
Jen, again, we cannot thank you enough.
You took us under your wing and you assisted
us in every way that we could have ever
imagined as well as all of the ways that
we never imagined. Shae I am infinitely
appreciative of the contributions you
have made to our project it is hard to
believe that we had met during
orientation week in I-House during our
first year at UChicago. In a lot of ways
our entire college experience has been
defined by this project our common effort.
We have learned and grown over
those years we have worked towards
achieving a unique goal and I am so
proud of that. Although it took several
challenging years of work to make this
all possible.
It was always energizing to have
Dr. Simpson constantly on our minds as
our role model. A scholar of German
Philology she embodied true academic
passion and drive. In 1921, after years of
being confronted with one obstacle after
another, she became one of the first
African American women in the entire
country to receive her PhD.
This accomplishment is tremendous and it is
also tremendously inspiring. My hope is
that sharing her story through this
monument will inspire and empower others
from current to Chicago students, to
future ones, to the thousands of families
who tour our school every year.
A solid bronze monument, a classical way of
honoring a more contemporary kind of hero.
When I contemplate the positive
impact that Dr. Simpson's monument will
have on future generations I think back
on my own childhood. Growing up as an
immigrant in Kentucky I couldn't help
but notice many of the local landmarks
to me they exemplified what it meant to
be an American the memorials we had in
Kentucky honored Abraham Lincoln,
Muhammad Ali and Colonel Sanders. [Laughter]
I specifically remember wondering how
had women and girls like myself
contributed where did we fit into the
American fabric. I recall pondering this
idea as well as I trekked through the
halls of the Kentucky State Capitol
puzzled by what I saw. In the State
Capitol rotunda there are five towering
figures honoring influential Kentucky
men in bronze and marble atop literal
pedestals and if you turn a corner walk
into the back corridor you'll see a
glass case storing an assortment of
porcelain dolls. This is how Kentucky
chooses to honor its first ladies.
I was 12 years old and I was appalled. [Applause]
Monuments not only asked for respect
but for emulation. The Capitol was
calling upon young women of Kentucky to
emulate fragile 18-inch figurines
trapped in a glass case. I wanted to fix it.
A few years later I worked on the
concept of Monumental Women in
Louisville trying to spread the word locally.
Then I arrived at UChicago
and it was clear that this campus was
not immune to the greater societal issue
of under representing women in our history.
I was 18 years old and once more
I wanted to fix it at that point at that
point in time Shae and I would have
never imagined that we would be here
tonight with all of you in the crowd for
such a historic day. We will never forget
this moment for the rest of our lives.
In the past few months communities
across the country have been pondering
similar questions to those of my childhood.
I urge everyone here tonight
to think not only about monuments that
should be removed across our nation but
also about those that still need to be put up.
Fuller histories that still need to be told.
And so my hope is that the spirit
of this monument will not stop at the
doors of Reynolds Club rather just as
Dr. Simpson had served as a role model
for me, Shea and countless others I hope
that our action here at UChicago can be
as pioneering as her underlying work.
Just as Georgiana Simpson academic
career represented what is possible for
women so too may this monument exemplify
what an inclusive view of our nation's
history might look like. We haven't fixed it.
We haven't even begun to fix the
problem but I'm inspired, I'm awed by the
attention this project has received.
I think about 12-year old me at the
Kentucky Capitol staring at those dolls
and I am proud knowing that young women
at UChicago won't relate because they'll
be able to gaze into the eyes of Dr. Simpson and they'll know
anything is possible.
History matters, representation matters, equality matters, and pioneering women of color matter.
May Dr. Georgiana Simpson's
monument end the silence of
under-representation and inspire a new
wave of recognition for Monumental Women
and their monumental victories thank you so much.
[Applause]
[SARAH CUNNINGHAM] How lucky am I that I get to work with these two amazing student leaders on an
hourly / daily sometimes minute-by-minute basis.
So the other half of the of the duo is Shea. Shae is a fourth-year from Baltimore, MD
studying political science with a minor in human
rights at the University of Chicago.
During her time at the University Shae
has served as a civic engagement chair
on the Student Advisory Board of the
Institute of Politics, a staff writer at
the undergraduate political review
The Gate, an undergraduate liaison to the
Board of Trustees within student
government and the co-president of the
African and Caribbean Student Association.
This past summer she was a legal intern
at lawyers for Human Rights in Pretoria
South Africa where she assisted refugees
and migrants and gaining legal status in
South Africa. Currently she is the office
of communications assistant at the
Pozen Family Center for Human Rights and
additionally she is a non-resident
research assistant to the director of
the Center for African Studies at
Harvard University. Please join me in
welcoming Shea to the stage.
[Applause]
[SHAE ONOMIJO] Good evening again, sorry this is my last
week at the University so I'm feeling
very, very sentimental at the moment.
When I first came to the University of
Chicago I must admit I had my
reservations. I remember fondly looking
for the black people in the dining hall,
in my classes and in positions of leadership.
I soon discovered that it
wasn't that I couldn't find them but
that there was simply not that many of
us to begin with. So I had to accept
early on that this University would be a
place where I would have to be conscious
of the spaces I inhabit.
Opportunities and resources wouldn't just be given to
me I had to seek them out and at times
even create them. The reality is how I
felt when I first came to campus is an
all-too-familiar feeling too many
students of color who attend
universities across the nation.
So I channeled the initial feeling of being
uncomfortable into curiosity.
So the first year in the University I went
rummaging through the University
archives in search of understanding.
I found the archive entitled "Integrating
the Life of the Mind: African Americans
at the University of Chicago." It was in
this archive that I read of a woman
named Georgiana Simpson who came to the
University in 1907 to begin her
undergraduate degree. Upon her arrival at
Greene residence hall she was met with
protests from white female students who
didn't want her living in the residence
simply because she was black.
The Dean of women Marianne Talbot and Sophonisba Breckinridge made the
decision that Georgiana Simpson could
remain on campus. However University
President Harry Pratt Judson overturned
this decision and made Simpson find
residence off campus. Nevertheless she persisted.
She returned to the University of Chicago
to begin her graduate degree in 1917.
In 1921 Georgiana Simpson became
Dr. Georgiana Simpson making her one of
the first African-American women to earn
a PhD United States. Too often black
women stories are neglected, untold and hidden.
We are far too often times the
footnotes in other people's stories.
We honor University President Harry Pratt Judson
Sophonisba Breckinridge and
Marianne Talbot with the naming of
college dorms and public art pieces but
Dr. Simpson's name has yet to receive
that same honor. All of this changes today. [Applause]
Dr. Simpson will be permanently
fixated here in Reynolds Club.
A space that was once reserved for white men
only and is now a center for student life.
Her bronze bust has her looking
onward with her her head facing
away from the bronze leaves of President Judson.
She has a slight yet
triumphant grin, her shoulders are
broadened and she stands there in all
her glory in her graduation gown.
When people pass by her bronze bus I want
them to feel emboldened, inspired and worthy.
I want Dr. Simpson to become a
part of our campus life and culture in
ways that she couldn't when she attended
the University. So I have a suggestion
that I would like to run by everyone
tonight we have a myth here at the
University of Chicago that if you step
on this seal here in Reynolds club a
magical curse will befall you and you
won't graduate in four years.
But what if we can undo the curse with
a new tradition. Students can touch Dr.
Georgiana Anna Simpsons bronze tassel as a
form of reassurance then not only will
they graduate but they'll survive and thrive. [Applause]
While myths and curses come and go there are so many
obstacles the black woman face on
college campuses today. A heart breaks
for the stories of black women, my heart
breaks for the stories like black of
black woman like Jazzy Rowe hero who was
tormented by her roommate at University
of Hartford. Women like Taylor Dumpson
from American University who face racist
torments for being elected the first
black female student government president.
These stories are a reminder
that the aspirations of diversity and
inclusion is just that, an aspiration.
We must acknowledge and deal with our past,
as painful as it may be, so that we can
create a more equitable future.
So I say to these women, this Dr. Georgiana
Simpson bronze bust is for you.
For the students of color across the nation who
ever questioned their place at the
greatest institutions in the world I say
this bronze bust is for you.
For the professors who mentor students of color
and provide resources and opportunities
we need to succeed. The professors who
say to me you no longer have to work
twice as hard just to have half of what
your counterparts have, this bronze bust
is for you. For the staff members who
have a truly open-door policy, who
provide encouragement and comfort at the
toughest of times during our college careers.
This bronze bust is for you for
my mother who is here tonight
[Applause]
For my mother who is here tonight who always
taught me that if there is no solution,
you must become it. If there's no path
you must pave it. And if there are no
opportunities you must create them.
This bronze bust is for you as Viola Davis
stated during her Emmy speech the only
thing that separates women of color from
everyone else is opportunity. If not for
Dr. Simpson I and so many students of
color like me would not have the
opportunities that we have today.
So I say before everyone here tonight may the
permanent fixture of Dr. Simpson's
legacy remain an inspiration to the next
generation of women for centuries to come.
thank you.
[Applause]
[SARAH CUNNINGHAM] I would like to now invite Asya back to
the podium as we prepare to unveil the
bronze bust. We are so delighted to unveil
to you this evening the bronze bust of
Dr. Georgiana Rose Simpson in its
permanent location the hallway right
outside of Mandel Hall.
[ASYA AKCA] We will be projecting a live feed of the unveiling
to the screen you see right behind us
from the hallway so that everyone here
in the auditorium tonight can have a great view.
Presenting to you for the very first time…
[SHAE ONOMIJO] The bronze bust of Dr. Georgiana Rose Simpson
[Applause]
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