Our Story: Portraits of Change
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About this project
Our Story: Portraits of Change is an interactive photo mosaic and art installation depicting a portrait of suffragist and civil rights activist Ida B. Wells. Our Story commemorated the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment and women’s right to vote in the United States. From August 24-29, a 25 ft by 40 ft (1,000 square feet) installation of the photo mosaic was on display at Union Station in Washington, DC. Created by artist Helen Marshall of the People’s Picture, commissioned by the Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission, co-produced by Purpose Entertainment.
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Amongst the thousands of images that make up the giant photo mosaic are featured suffragists who also played a huge role in the fight for women’s right to vote.
Thousands of people attended the unveiling. We created an interactive poster where each woman is marked with a yellow ribbon. Please download the pdf version below.
In the news
BBC News | 2020
'Mosaic Memory of Suffragist Ida B. Wells'
Washington News 4 | 2020
'Mosaic at Union Station Honors Pioneering Civil Rights Leader Ida B. Wells'
Washington Post | 2020
'Ida B. Wells gets her due as a Black suffragist who rejected movement’s racism'
CNN | 2020
'A 1,000 square foot mosaic of Ida B. Wells is being installed at Union Station in DC'
MS Magazine | 2020
'We Heart: Suffragists to be Honored in Photo Mosaic at D.C.’s Union Station'
Washingtonian | 2020
A Massive Ida B. Wells Mosaic Is Coming to Union Station
FOX 5 | 2020
'Massive portrait honoring civil rights leader Ida B. Wells coming to Union Station'
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The Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission (WSCC) was formed by the U.S. Congress to coordinate the nationwide commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the passage and ratification of the 19th Amendment, which was officially ratified and signed into the Constitution on August 26, 1920. Led by a bipartisan group of 14 women leaders, the WSCC has a nonpartisan mission to ensure that Americans in every state across the country have the chance to participate in the centennial and to learn about this important but often overlooked history. For more information about the WSCC, its initiatives, and commemorative events across the country throughout 2020.
“One of my favorite quotes from the suffrage movement comes from the newspaper The Revolution. Its motto was ‘men their rights and nothing more, women their rights and nothing less’. This quote captures the spirit of the decades-long suffrage movement, and with her leadership in the fight for suffrage and civil rights, Ida B. Wells is the perfect example of someone who would settle for nothing less than full justice and equality. The Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission is excited to honor her legacy and celebrate the thousands of women who fought for the right to vote with this mosaic in Union Station.”
Anna Laymon | Executive Director of Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission
“I am beyond grateful to have enjoyed so many of the choices brought to me by the generations of women before me. In 2018, I created the ‘Face of Suffrage’ to commemorate the centenary of the women’s vote in United Kingdom and never in a million years did I imagine it would grow into a giant artwork of prominent Suffragist Ida B Wells’ at such an incredible location in the United States. Communication between women’s movements happened at mostly the same time in the U.S, Europe, New Zealand, and Australia. I see this artwork as a truly international commemoration, and I hope that many will enjoy it in person and exploring in its full interactive glory online in the safety of their homes.”
Helen Marshall | Artist
“As the great grandson, and on behalf of the family of Ida B Wells, I am truly honoured that you are paying tribute to my ancestor with the distinguished Blue Plaque. Her travels to the United Kingdom were significant in helping to sharpen her skills to fight for justice and equal rights.
Her fight for equality and her anti-lynching campaigns which brought her to Edgbaston, are aligned to Birmingham’s rich heritage of supporting social justice. We are proud that this blue plaque will enable the legacy and amazing story of an often-forgotten heroine of civil rights to be remembered and told.”
Dan Duster | Great Grandson of Ida B. Wells
“I refused, saying that the forward car was a smoker, and as I was in the ladies’ car, I proposed to stay. . . [The conductor] tried to drag me out of the seat, but the moment he caught hold of my arm I fastened my teeth in the back of his hand. I had braced my feet against the seat in front and was holding to the back, and as he had already been badly bitten he didn’t try it again by himself. He went forward and got the baggageman and another man to help him and of course they succeeded in dragging me out. I resisted all the time, and never consented to go. My dress was torn in the struggle, one sleeve [sic] was almost torn off. Everybody in the car seemed to sympathize with the conductor, and were against me.”
Ida B. Wells | Crusade for Justice: The Autobiography of Ida B. Wells