September 19, 2024, SAN FRANCISCO – Mayor London N. Breed joined the San Francisco Arts Commission, the San Francisco Public Library, elected officials, and family representatives of Dr. Maya Angelou today to unveil a new monument titled Portrait of a Phenomenal Woman: A Monument Honoring Dr. Maya Angelou for the San Francisco Main Library by artist Lava Thomas. 

“The remarkable life and legacy of Dr. Maya Angelou has inspired countless individuals, and she will now shine as a beacon of inspiration for future generations of San Franciscans who will visit our Main Library,” said Mayor London Breed. “Through the power of poetry, Dr. Angelou remains a symbol of community, connection, and creativity.”  

“Dr. Maya Angelou is a phenomenal woman of many firsts,” said Director of Cultural Affairs Ralph Remington. “From being San Francisco’s first African American female streetcar conductor, to the first Black woman to be featured on U.S. currency, and now, with the installation of Lava Thomas’ Portrait of a Phenomenal Woman, Dr. Angelou is the first Black woman to be commemorated in a public monument in San Francisco’s Civic Art Collection.” 

About the Monument:  

Portrait of a Phenomenal Woman is sited at the entrance to the Main Library at 100 Larkin Street. 

Rising to a total height of nine feet, the monument is made of bronze, measures 96” high x 72” wide x 26” deep, and is set atop a 12” high x 80” wide x 30” deep basalt stone base.  

The monument was fabricated by Walla Walla Foundry in Walla Walla, WA, and the basalt base by American Soil and Stone in Richmond, CA. The total estimated weight of the monument installation is approximately 6,900 lbs.  

Styled in the form of a book, the front of the sculpture features a portrait of Dr. Angelou drawn by Lava Thomas, based on an image still from a 1973 interview of Dr. Angelou in conversation with Bill Moyers. The monument also features the quote “Still I Rise” along the front base, and a secondary quote on the back: 

"Information helps you to see that you're not alone. That there's somebody in Mississippi and somebody in Tokyo who all have wept, who've all longed and lost, who've all been happy. So the library helps you to see, not only that you are not alone, but that you're not really any different from everyone else. There may be details that are different, but a human being is a human being." - Dr. Maya Angelou 

“Public libraries are a vital place of connection and information literacy,” said City Librarian Michael Lambert. “We are thrilled that this monument will welcome all through the front doors of San Francisco’s Main Library.” 

In celebration of today’s installation, the Public Library debuted a special edition Library Card featuring a portrait of Dr. Maya Angelou drawn by Lava Thomas. 

“I am absolutely thrilled to celebrate the remarkable legacy of Dr. Maya Angelou with the unveiling of Portrait of a Phenomenal Woman: A Monument to Honor Dr. Maya Angelou for the San Francisco Library.” said artist Lava Thomas. “Today is a historic milestone for San Francisco and I am honored to be a part of it.” 

Family representatives of Dr. Maya Angelou, Elliott Jones, grandson, social advocate and philanthropist, and board member of the Dr. Maya Angelou Foundation, and niece and archivist of Dr. Angelou, Rosa Johnson, were in attendance and spoke to celebrate the unveiling. 

Project History & Background 

In June 2017, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed a resolution recognizing that although 51% of the population is female, women are woefully underrepresented in sectors of public and private leadership roles, and their historical contributions are inadequately recognized in public statues and memorials.  

The Board passed legislation in October 2018 requiring at least 30 percent non-fiction female representation in the public realm through works of art on City property, plaques, names of streets and right-of-ways, parks, public buildings and department websites and publications, mirroring a national movement to increase female representation in the public realm to 30 percent. As most of the sculptures and monuments in the City’s collection honoring individuals recognize white men, the monument of Dr. Maya Angelou will begin to redress this gender imbalance by honoring a woman, and moreover, a woman of color.  

Existing works of art honoring women in the City’s collection include a bust of the late former Mayor and Senator, Dianne Feinstein inside City Hall, and a statue of Florence Nightingale located at Laguna Honda Hospital in Forest Hill.  

About the Artist 

Lava Thomas is a multi-disciplinary artist whose work is grounded in acts of reverence, memorialization, and commemoration. Her portraits, sculptures, paintings, and site-specific installations draw from her family's southern roots, African-American devotional and protest traditions, intersectional feminism, and socio-political events. Her work is held in museum collections nationwide, including the Smithsonian Museum of American Art, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, The Studio Museum in Harlem, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, the Cantor Art Center at Stanford University, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Spelman College Museum of Fine Art, and the United States Consulate General in Johannesburg, South Africa. Among her awards are a Joan Mitchell Foundation Award for Painters and Sculptors, an American Arts and Letters Purchase Prize, a San Francisco Artadia Award, and a Lucas Artists Fellowship. Thomas studied at UCLA's School of Art Practice and received a BFA from California College of the Arts (CCA). She serves on CCA's Presidential Advisory Committee and is a former trustee of the Djerassi Resident's Artists Program and the Alliance of Artists Communities. She is represented by Rena Bransten Gallery in San Francisco, CA.