Acton sculptor Meredith Bergmann’s “Something is Being Done” was unveiled at the Lexington Green on Wednesday, May 15. A crowd of hundreds gathered to celebrate the monument, installed on a granite plaza, as well as the work of dozens of women “to make women visible and honor their contributions,” in the words of Elizabeth Solomon, Elder, Massachusett Tribe at Ponkapoag during opening remarks. “This is, and always has been, Native space. It is, and always has been, women’s space.”
The space is indeed a special one, special to Native peoples who have lived here for 12,000+ years, and special for others to whom it is known as the birthplace of American liberty. Four years ago, a process began that culminated in unanimous approval by the Lexington Select Board to site the monument in this historic space. Jessie Steigerwald, president of LexSeeHer, a nonprofit that formed to support the development of the monument, noted that the monument steering committee worked closely with several entities in town over the years in addition to the Select Board: the Arts Council, Design Advisory Board, Historic Commission, the Lexington Historical Society, and the Center Committee among others. The project also drew support from state legislators, including State Senator Cindy Friedman who secured a legislative earmark of approximately $37K. Friedman remarked, “This monument is in an incredibly visible location, and it is where it is supposed to be. Four years in the making? It was really hundreds of years in the making.”
Doug Lucente, Chair of Lexington Select Board, described Steigerwald’s launch of the initiative, a citizen petition brought to Town Meeting in 2020. The petition, a resolution to erect a monument in Lexington to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, ratified on August 18, 1920, required Steigerwald to gather 100 signatures during the time of mask and social distance mandates and a cap on the number of people who could gather. Lucente remarked that the community was about to “unveil a monument that tells the story of the remarkable history of resilience. This monument is a testament to bold women and the power of community.”
When the resolution passed, a Steering Committee of twelve women was formed; they were soon joined by 14 advisors with expertise in art, history, community development, and non-profit organizing. A 501(c)(3) was created, with Steigerwald at the helm as president. Funds were raised from more than 600 donors, including a 5-year-old girl who broke her piggy bank, and a group of young girls who earned money by holding a lemonade stand.
“When you see this sculpture, I want you to think of what you see,” urged Namita Luthra, member of the Advisory Board. “I see irrepressible determination. Over the past few years, this country has seen, not the advancement of girls and women’s rights, but their erasure. I want you to remember; the women in this sculpture faced greater odds than those we face.”
Meredith Bergmann, the sculptor of the monument offered her thanks to the members of the steering committee, the women who served as her models, many of them from Lexington, and her son Dan who, “with his dry sense of humor, sculpted the worm in the apple.” She added, “Now that it’s done, I hope you will enjoy it and draw inspiration from it.”
Throughout the ceremony, punctuated by songs from the LexSeeHer Chorus and remarks by dignitaries, historians and events chairs read the names of the Lexington women memorialized in Bergmann’s monument. Margaret Tulip is one of these women. An enslaved woman who arrived in Lexington as a child, Tulip was emancipated, but then enslaved again. In 1768, she sued the state and won her freedom in 1770. Recalling that a detractor questioned the appropriateness of including Tulip in the monument because she wasn’t “from” Lexington and didn’t belong, a reader asked, “Who belongs? For decades, centuries, it was men who served in the military and who served god. With Meredith Bergman’s monument, the original three women under consideration for inclusion expanded to 20. Margaret was one of us. She’s from here. She does belong.” Tulip’s descendants in the audience must have agreed.
To learn more about the project, the 20 women who are depicted in the monument, and the schedule for this Saturday’s dedication events which includes a “Meet the Artist: Meredith Bergmann,” a “Dedication and Women’s Visibility Ceremony” and “Children’s Activities,” visit lexseeher.com. To learn more about the artist and her work, visit meredithbergmann.com.
