All throughout May, 海角精品黑料 is celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month with聽stories about the people and places shaping the D.C. region.
If you鈥檝e walked through D.C.鈥檚 Chinatown lately, you may have spotted a vibrant, two-story mural tucked into an alley off H Street NW. It features a woman in a bright red hat, a yellow flower pinned to her lapel and the words, 鈥淰ote. It鈥檚 Your Voice.鈥�
If you don鈥檛 immediately recognize her, that鈥檚 the point, according to the organization that聽commissioned the mural.
The mural depicts Mabel Ping-Hua Lee, a Chinese American suffragist, scholar and community leader. said聽the project is meant to spark curiosity and draw attention to stories of Chinese Americans that have long been overlooked.
Who was Mabel Ping-Hua Lee?
Lee immigrated to the United States from China as a young girl in 1905. She grew up in New York and went on to become a prominent community leader.
Her achievements include becoming the first Chinese American woman to receive a PhD in economics, earning the degree from Columbia University. She was also a passionate suffragette, advocating for women鈥檚 right to vote and for full participation in American civic life. She participated in the historic New York City suffrage parade in 1912 at the age of sixteen.
But there was just one catch after the 19th Amendment was ratified in 1920: the young woman still could not vote.
Ted Gong, founder of the 1882 Foundation, explained that it was due to the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, 鈥淭hat act prohibited Chinese from immigrating to United States and from becoming American citizens. That was first passed in 1882, and it was not rescinded until 1943.鈥�
鈥淪he was arguing for this right for women to vote and to participate fully in American affairs, and she could not become an American citizen and could not vote,鈥� Gong said.
Sharing stories like Lee鈥檚 is central to the foundation鈥檚 mission shedding light on the Chinese immigrants during that era, and the barriers they faced despite their contributions.
The mural itself is impossible to miss with bright blues, reds and yellows framing Lee鈥檚 face, which is painted in black and white. The contrast is intentional.
鈥淪he lived a long time ago, before there was color photography, so I wanted it to represent an older era, when she was a pioneering suffragette鈥� Artist Jeff Huntington, known as Jahru, said.
He said it was very challenging to paint at a scale this large, 鈥渁nd on a wall this textured. It involves a lot of math and a lot of problems solving, and that鈥檚 just a huge part of my process.鈥�
The colors are a triadic color scheme, Jahru said it offers 鈥渉armony and balance as far as the color wheel goes.鈥�
The mural is in Jahru鈥檚 signature style with an almost prism-like effect.
鈥淵ou see the fractal radiance in the background. It gave me an opportunity to give her a glow that radiates from the center of her soul,鈥� he said.
That sense of invitation is at the heart of the project.
An opportunity like this one highlighting Mabel Ping-Hua Lee carries extra weight for an artist like Jahru.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a huge honor. They gave me some artistic freedom to put in some of my style in the work, and it鈥檚 also very important for me to create a public piece that sort of invites the public and the community in, with curiosity,鈥� he said.
Gong said, the issues Lee fought for more than a century ago haven鈥檛 disappeared.
鈥淭he current issue is who has a right to become an American, and how do we welcome immigrants?鈥� he said.
鈥淎rt, it鈥檚 such a powerful tool, it鈥檚 a beautification tool. It鈥檚 a way to activate a space, but it鈥檚 also about telling a story,鈥� said Lukas Umana, The Downtown D.C. Business Improvement District senior director of public space operations and activations. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really about a story of the importance of voting and what she meant to America as we celebrate 250 years of American democracy.鈥�
A formal dedication of the mural is planned for July 1.
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