A Towering Figure for Equality – Statue of Tererai Trent to be Unveiled in New York City on August 26

On Women’s Equality Day, August 26, a life-size statue of scholar and humanitarian Tererai Trent will be unveiled by Statues for Equality in New York City. The monument will stand alongside sculptures of media maven Oprah Winfrey, conservationist Jane Goodall, Olympic gymnast Gabby Douglas and others. Trent is a 2001–2002 AAUW International Fellow alumna who delivered an inspiring talk at the National Conference for College Women Student Leaders in May 2019.

About Tererai Trent

Tererai Trent, Ph.D., is an internationally recognized voice for global education and women’s empowerment. She is a scholar, humanitarian, motivational speaker, educator, author and the founder of Tererai Trent International, a nonprofit organization devoted to providing quality education in rural Africa. Trent grew up in a cattle-herding family in rural Zimbabwe, and despite facing many obstacles, she never lost sight of her dreams of getting an education. Trent could not have imagined then that she would one day influence world leaders and international audiences and lead the charge in the fight for quality education and women’s rights.

Trent has been a keynote speaker twice at the U.N. Global Compact Leaders Summit, where she asked international business leaders to invest in equal access to quality education. She is currently an adjunct professor at Drexel University’s School of Public Health.

Trent’s book, The Awakened Woman: Remembering & Reigniting out Sacred Dream, is based on her story of perseverance. She has become a symbol of hope and living proof that anything is possible. Her motto is “tinogona,” which in Shona means, “It is achievable!”

About Statues of Equality

Husband and wife duo Gillie and Marc aim to balance gender representation in public art and honor women’s achievements through this installation.  In New York City, only 3% of statues are female, and Gillie and Marc aim to even this statistic by creating ten larger than life statues of inspirational women. The statues will be revealed on August 26, Women’s Equality Day, at RXR Realty’s 1285 Avenue of the Americas. The women represented were chosen by the public, and include Tererai Trent, Oprah Winfrey, P!nk, Jane Goodall, Nicole Kidman, Cate Blanchett, Janet Mock, Tracy Dyson, Gabby Douglas and Cheryl Strayed.