New York City plans to create new statues of women to address gender imbalance in public monuments. Among those being honoured is jazz great Billie Holiday whose hit song Strange Fruit dramatized the horrors of lynching.

The other statues will honour Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman to serve in Congress, teacher Elizabeth Jennings Graham who helped desegregate public transportation, lighthouse keeper Katherine Walker and doctor Helen Rodriguez Trias. NYC First Lady Chirlane McCray said “We cannot tell the story of New York City without recognizing the invaluable contributions of the women who helped build and shape it.”