Celebration: Phenomenal Women

A tribute to those who refuse to be silent
Friday, 10/3/2025
12:00 - 1:00
Larkin Street Steps
Main Library

100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
United States

415-557-4400

In a collective act of remembrance and resistance against erasure, we honor the voices of women who refused to be silenced with a community reading of Dr. Maya Angelou's work and flower ceremony at the Portrait of a Phenomenal Woman monument.  

Offering a beacon for the values that defined Dr. Angelou’s life — courage, faith, justice, resilience and artistic freedom —  the program will feature remarks by monument designer, artist Lava Thomas, President and CEO of Glide, Dr. Gina Fromer and readings from selections of Dr. Angelou's poetry and interviews. In the ceremony portion of the program, participants are invited to activate the space by sharing a wish for a future that embraces the values that Dr. Angelou exemplified, which will then be tied to a carnation and placed at the foot of monument.

The nine-foot, bronze Portrait of a Phenomenal Woman honors Dr. Maya Angelou and features the words "Still I Rise" on one side and an inspiring quote about the power of libraries and human connection on the other. Installed in the fall of 2024, it is the first public monument in San Francisco's civic art collection to honor a Black woman and stands on the Larkin Street steps of the Main Library.  

After the ceremony, the flowers will be displayed in the African American Center. 

Part of Nexus: SF/Bay Area Black Art Week.

Art, Architecture & Photography

Learn from world-class designers, artists and experts in their fields. 

More Than a Month: Black Interest

Connect to engaging discussions and performances related to the Black community.

More Than a Month recognizes important events in Black history, honors community and national leaders and fosters steps towards collective change. Programming features authors, poets and craft classes. 

Spotlight

This program is sponsored by Friends of the San Francisco Public Library.

Attending Programs

All programs are drop-in (no registration necessary) unless otherwise noted. All SFPL locations are wheelchair accessible. For accommodations (such as ASL), call (415) 557-4557 or contact accessibility@sfpl.org. Requesting at least 3 business days in advance will help ensure availability.

This program will be conducted in English unless otherwise noted.

Notice: This event may be filmed or photographed. By participating in this event, you consent to have your likeness used for the Library’s archival purposes and promotional materials. If you do not want to be photographed, please inform a staff person or the photographer. A sticker will be provided to help identify you so that we can avoid capturing your image.

Public Notice and Disclaimer

This program uses a third-party website link. By clicking on the third-party website link, you will leave SFPL's website and enter a website not operated by SFPL. This service may collect personally identifying information about you, such as name, username, email address, and password. This service will treat the information it collects about you pursuant to its own privacy policy. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of each third-party website or service that you visit or use, including those third parties with whom you interact through our Library services. For more information about these third-party links, please see the section of SFPL’s Privacy Policy describing Links to Other Sites.

The views and opinions expressed in programs presented by groups unaffiliated with SFPL do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SFPL or the City.