Rep. Laura Hall, the lawmaker behind the 2019 legislation that paved the way for these monuments, emphasized the importance of portraying the complete history of Alabama. “It’s crucial for visitors to grasp the full picture, understanding the profound impact women have had,” Hall stated.

Positioned on the Capitol’s lawn, these statues will be the first to honor women, offering a more inclusive narrative of Alabama’s past. This is particularly notable given the existing tributes to the Confederacy on the site, which was established as the Confederacy’s birthplace in 1861.

While the Capitol’s interior features a bust of Lurleen Wallace, Alabama’s first female governor who passed away while in office in 1968, there had previously been no outdoor monuments commemorating influential women. The introduction of Parks and Keller’s statues not only fills this gap but also enriches the historical landscape of the Alabama Capitol grounds.

Rep. Laura Hall, who sponsored the 2019 legislation that authorized the monuments, said it is important that visitors to the Capitol, “see the full picture, the history and the impact that women have played.”

“Helen Keller and Rosa Parks just seemed to be the image that — whether you were Black or white, Democrat or Republican — you could identify with and realize the impact that they had on history,” Hall said.

Known as the mother of the modern civil rights movement, Parks was arrested on Dec. 1, 1955 when she refused to leave her bus seat for a white passenger. Her action ignited the yearlong boycott of the segregated city bus system by Black passengers and helped usher in the civil rights movement.

Keller was born on June 27, 1880 in Tuscumbia, Alabama. She became deaf and blind after a serious illness shortly before her second birthday. With the help of tutor Anne Sullivan, Keller learned to communicate through sign language and Braille. Keller went on to become a well-known writer and lecturer. She championed the rights of workers, the poor, women, and people with disabilities around the world.

The statue of Parks sits by the Alabama Capitol steps facing Dexter Avenue, the street where Parks boarded the bus and made history in 1955. The statue honoring the civil rights icon sits across from a statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis.

The statue of Keller sits facing the Alabama Statehouse.

The statue presentation on Friday has been more than six years in the making.

Alabama lawmakers in 2019 approved Hall’s legislation to place the monuments to Parks and Keller on the grounds of the state Capitol. The Alabama Women’s Tribute Statue Commission has been quietly at work, commissioning the statues and finalizing the displays.