On a quiet corner of H Street in Washington, D.C., a towering mural of Mabel Ping-Hua Lee, Class of 1916, meets visitors with a sharp gaze. She dons a red hat and wears a single rose on her lapel. The new work from the artist Jeff Huntington, known as “Jahru,” includes a clear imperative: “Vote. It’s Your Voice.”
Those who pass by the mural might be unfamiliar with Lee, whose contributions to women’s suffrage are often overlooked. After immigrating from China to New York as a girl, Lee dedicated her life to the political and social enfranchisement of women, helping to lead 10,000 in a march up Fifth Avenue at just 16.
Her work as an advocate grew throughout her time at Barnard, where she was an active member of the debate club and the Barnard/Columbia Chinese Students’ Association. Lee often served as a critical voice in white feminist circles on China’s political situation and the need for women’s participation in civic life both within and outside of the U.S.
“No nation can ever make real and lasting progress in civilization unless its women are following close to its men, if not actually abreast with them,” Lee argued in her 1915 speech “The Submerged Half,” while a college junior. “In the fierce struggle for existence among the nations, that nation is badly handicapped which leaves undeveloped one half of its intellectual and moral resources.”
Despite her tireless efforts, Lee served as a harsh reminder of the racial divides that persisted in movements for women’s rights. Women in New York were granted the right to vote in 1917, and nationwide after the ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920, but Lee herself could not cast a ballot until 1943: the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 barred Chinese immigrants from becoming U.S. citizens, and was overturned when Lee was in her 40s.
The new mural, commissioned by the 1882 Foundation and the DowntownDC Business Improvement District (BID), takes care to shed light on Lee’s impact. For Ted Gong, Executive Director of the 1882 Foundation, its creation is a chance to recognize the contributions of Chinese immigrants to American life, and to promote voting as a civic good, as he expressed to NBC4 Washington.
Lee would go on to become the first Chinese woman in the U.S. to earn a doctorate, completing her graduate studies in economics at Columbia University. She continues to be honored in New York public life, including in Manhattan’s Chinatown Post Office, which was renamed in 2018 to become the Mabel Lee Memorial Post Office — enabling new generations of New Yorkers to remember Lee while mailing in their ballots, ensuring their voices are heard.
“Mabel Ping-Hua Lee marched for a fuller vision of democracy before she could even cast a ballot herself, a reminder that the work of inclusion has always been led by people who refused to wait for permission,” said Akilah Rosado, Interim Dean of the College and Vice President for Inclusion and Belonging. “Her legacy lives on in every student and scholar here who insists this community make room for them, carrying that same courage into their own moment.”