Jane Eskind Among Tennessee Trailblazers to be Honored at Suffrage Monument’s Unveiling
Image via Wikipedia
Long in the making from acclaimed Nashville sculptor Alan LeQuire of Athena and Musica fame, the large-scale bronze Woman Suffrage Monument will be unveiled in ceremonies set for 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. this Friday, Aug. 26, at Centennial Park.
The historic commemoration will honor the suffragists who fought so diligently for Tennessee to become the 36th state — the last state needed to ratify the 19th Amendment — which resulted in all American women gaining the right to vote upon ratification on Aug. 18, 1920.
The event also will celebrate three modern-day trailblazers, who will be honored on plaques on the monument, whose stellar careers were made possible by the suffragists’ victory. They include political pioneer Jane Eskind, the first woman ever to win a statewide election in Tennessee, who passed away at age 83 on Aug. 4, 2016.
Eskind was one of the founding figures and leading lights of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, where she established any number of funds with husband Richard Eskind and whose $1 million grant in 2011 established the Jane G. Eskind Endowment for The Women’s Fund initiative.
She was the mother of Ellen Lehman, founder and president of The Community Foundation, who plans to be present at Friday’s ceremony. The mayors of four of the state’s largest cities — Nashville Mayor Megan Barry, Clarksville Mayor Kim McMillan, Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero and Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland —are among the scheduled speakers.
The program will be streamed live here: https://livestream.com/tndv-television/tnwomansuffrage
For more information, visit: http://tnsuffragemonument.org/.