A site in Central Park will be dedicated to honor the centennial of women's suffrage in New York State, the city parks department announced Monday.
"Today is the first day of the next 100 years," New York State Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul said at a press conference. "We have inherited the torch that was passed to us by women and some enlightened men who fought so long."
A statue of Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton are planned to be placed on Literary Walk in the middle of the park in 2020 on the centennial of the ratification of the 19th Amendment.
The monument will be the first piece depicting real women in history, and the first commemorative sculpture installed in the park since 1965, according to the parks department.
"We want to make sure that all of our monuments reflect the diversity of our city and our country, and to have this statement of the first real women in Central Park — really the world's park — is a major statement," City Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver said.
Anthony and Stanton founded the National Woman Suffrage Association in 1869 in the city.
The country's first women's rights convention took place in 1848 in Seneca Falls, New York, but it wasn't until 1917 when women won the right to vote.
Advocates say they are inspired by women who continue to fight for equality today, but there is still much more work to be done.
"Anita Hill was 25 years ago — that's when it became part of the consciousness, the issue of sexual harassment in the work place," said Sonia Ossorio, the president of the National Organization for Women NYC. "But this is the real tipping point, and women aren't scared anymore. So, that's really good news moving forward for the next 100 years."
"We're roaring now, and we're not going to go back," said Sharon Nelson, of the group Civically Re-engaged Women. "Our moms did this, our grandmothers did this — they laid the foundation."
Advocates are also encouraging more women to run for elected office to ensure equal representation in government.