March 10, 2023 Statues

Henrietta Lacks

For ‘unrecognised black women’: statue of Henrietta Lacks unveiled in Bristol

Lacks, whose cells were used in multiple medical advances, is honoured by the city’s university.

There were tears of joy and pride as the first statue of a black woman created by a black woman for a public space in the UK was unveiled in a sunlit garden at the University of Bristol.

Three generations of of Henrietta Lacks’ family travelled from the US for the unveiling of the bronze statue of her, sculpted by the Bristol artist and campaigner Helen Wilson-Roe.

Wilson-Roe revealed that when she persuaded the university to commission the piece, shortly after the statue of slave trader Edward Colston was toppled from its plinth in Bristol and thrown into the river, she had not actually created a sculpture before.

But Lacks’ relatives agreed that the image of Henrietta, whose cells have been used in myriad medical advances since her death 70 years ago, captured her spirit, her steadfastness and determination.

Henrietta Lacks died in 1951 in Baltimore, aged 31, from an aggressive form of cervical cancer, but a sample of her cells survived, multiplied and were used – without her family’s knowledge or consent – in research that helped create the polio vaccine, gene mapping and IVF treatment. After the story emerged, decades after her death, she was dubbed the “mother of modern medicine”.

 the unveiling ceremony for the statue, Lacks’ granddaughter, Jeri Lacks-Whye, said: “She has saved lives and given to countless people around the world.”

Wilson-Roe said that Bristol’s links to the slave trade meant the statue was an important statement for the city. “As a child growing up in Bristol, there were no statues of black women that I could identify with, so knowing that my children and their grandchildren and great-grandchildren will be able to see Henrietta’s statue in Bristol is just fantastic, especially at this time when Bristol is starting to address its past.”

Prof Jeremy Tavaré, dean of the university’s faculty of life sciences, said: “Many of our biomedical science researchers whose work uses human cells have used Henrietta’s cells in their research, including myself. We owe Henrietta an enormous debt of gratitude.”

Prof Judith Squires, deputy vice-chancellor and provost, added: “The statue marks a significant step in addressing the lack of representation of women, and women of colour, in public artwork in our diverse, multicultural city.”

Marvin Rees, Bristol’s directly elected mayor, said he was moved by the inscription on the base of the statue – “More than a cell” – and the dedication: “To all the unrecognised black women who have contributed to humanity, you will never be forgotten.”

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 A statue of Mary McLeod Bethune, which is the first state statue of a Black woman in Statuary Hall, is seen in the Capitol.

For the first time ever, the U.S. Capitol’s National Statuary Hall collection features a Black American.  

On Wednesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and members of Congress celebrated the dedication of a statue of Mary McLeod Bethune.  

“Dr. Bethune epitomizes the values we hold dear,” said Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla). “We lift her up today at a time of competing ideologies to help heal and unify through her example.”

Bethune was born in 1875 in South Carolina, the 15th child of her enslaved mother and father. After her marriage, she moved to Florida, where she would go on to champion racial and gender equality.

In 1904, Bethune opened the Daytona Literary and Industrial Training School for Negro Girls, now Bethune-Cookman University.

She also founded several organizations, including the first Black hospital in Daytona and the National Council of Negro Women. In 1940, she was elected vice president of the NAACP. 

“I remember as a little girl listening to my mother and father talk about a Black woman; a woman who looked like us, who started a college, here in Florida. As I listened to the story, it seemed impossible. Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune made what seemed impossible, possible,” said Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.) on Twitter.

Bethune’s work spread to the federal government as well. In 1936, she became the highest-ranking Black woman in government after then-President Franklin Roosevelt named her the director of the National Youth Administration’s Division of Negro Affairs. 

Roosevelt was one of five presidents Bethune advised in her lifetime.

Lawrence Drake, president of Bethune-Cookman University, said the community “rejoices” in seeing its founder take her “rightful place” among the other distinguished American statues. 

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“No one could have predicted that this daughter of slaves would create a university, found a powerful political organization, advise presidents and inspire generations,” said Drake. “Her hopeful vision, her hard work, her generous spirit and her deep faith made a lasting and positive mark on our country and the world.”

The 11-foot statue of Bethune features her smiling in a cap and gown, a black rose clutched in her left hand. 

All states donate two statues to the Capitol, but Florida requested a change to its donation of Confederate Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith. Bethune’s statue is the work of Nilda Comas, the first Hispanic master sculptor featured in the hall.

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