The Marble Ceiling

The soon-to-be Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi had this to say last week about becoming the first female Speaker: “You walk the halls here, you rarely see a picture of a woman, a statue of a woman. To break the marble ceiling that is here is great for all women in America.”

This quote from the soon-to-be speaker reminded me of the soon-to be Barbara Jordan statue at the University of Texas at Austin. At UT there are no statues of women and currently only one statue of a person of color (Martin Luther King, Jr). There are a lot of statues of Confederate war heros. The student body voted to break some marble ceilings, so to speak, and put some student fees towards building statues of Barbara Jordan and Ceasar Chavez. There were four finalists for the design of each statue. Students were able to view models of the finalists and pick the one they liked.

Of the four Barbara Jordan models, Kim Crowley's depiction, pictured below, was chosen. It shows Jordan sitting on a bench reaching into her breifcase. The statue was to be put near a path in an area with lots of trees.



However, in August the statue committee rejected the design and are going to start over with new artists. The committee director and associate dean of students Sherri Sanders said they "need to look further to find a design that people could walk up to and be in awe."

Sheena Paul, a business senior at UT and chair of the statue committee, said "there had been concerns that the statue didn't quite convey her [Jordan's] presence, power or gravitas."

Mr. Crowley defended his statue design saying that it "was aimed at connecting with the student body. People going through the area could use the sculpture and sit next to her. The campus already has other overblown and oversized statues, and sculpturally, that's an unsophisticated way to go."

Although I appreciate the statue committee's dedication to the visability and appropriate representation of women and people of color, I resent the fact that they seem to be focused on making Jordan "fit in" more with the current statues to have gravitas. (Also, would the committee argue that the Confederate statues have gravitas?)

I agree with Mr. Crowley. Barbara Jordan isn't great because she looked like she could take out George Washington in a duel. She is great because she represented parts of America who often get overlooked. She's great because she connected with people.

The interesting part to me is that there is no discussion of Barbara Jordan's disability. In her 30's, while serving in the U.S. Congree, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Although she tried to keep it out of public view, she used a cane and then a wheelchair. This is why it especially bothers me that the committee is (or at least seems to be) pushing for a bigger, stronger, and more "normal" statue.

If it were up to me, we'd have a statue of Barbara Jordan in her wheelchair, sitting next to her lesbian life partner. But in the chance that that doesn't happen, I think we need different ways of thinking and talking about things. Where strength doesn't mean power. Where gravitas doesn't mean looking like the idols of the (rather white, rather male) past. Where you don't have to be big and tall to be awe-inspiring.

Most importantly, we need a realization that you don't have to be physically awe-inspiring to be respected. This is the only way we will ever break the marble ceiling for people with disabilities.

I will end by sharing one of my favorite poems by Lois Keith.

Tomorrow I am going to rewrite the English Language.
I will discard all those striving ambulist metaphors of power and success
And construct new ways to describe my strength.
My new, different strength.

Then I won't have to feel dependent
Because I can't stand on my own two feet.
And I'll refuse to feel a failure
When I don't stay one step ahead.
I won't feel inadequate if I can't
Stand up for myself
Or illogical when I don't
Take it one step at a time.

I will make them understand that it is a very male way
To describe the world.
All this walking tall
And making great strides.

Yes, tomorrow I am going to rewrite the English Language
Creating the world in my own image.
Mine will be a gentler, more womanly way
To describe my progress.
I will wheel, cover and encircle.
Somehow I will learn to say it all.

*Quotes and picture from The Daily Texan.