A recent study by the Washington Post noted that just 8 percent of the statues of individuals in public outdoor spaces in the United States portrayed women. According to a new study conducted by a local television station there are 48 statues of men in public parks in the city of Chicago. There are no statues of women. Likewise, there are no statues of women on the campus of the University of Chicago, according to the report.
But now, it has been announced that a bronze bust of Georgiana Simpson will be placed in the Reynolds Club on the University of Chicago campus. Dr. Simpson earned a bachelor’s degree at the University of Chicago in 1911. In 1921, at the age of 55, she earned a Ph.D. in German philology at the university. She was the second African American woman to earn a Ph.D. in the United States.
Dr. Simpson had a long career as a teacher at Dunbar High School in Washington, D.C. In 1931, she was offered a position on the faculty at Howard University. She taught there until her retirement in 1939 at the age of 73. Dr. Simpson died in Washington in 1944.