A Yellow Rose Project

By Suzanne Révy

Frances F. Denny’s picture of an elegant Black woman with dangling red earrings in a crisp white sweater-dress while eating a sandwich at a wooden booth in the Henry Public Saloon is simply sublime. Her subject’s gaze is direct, as if to say, “I am present.” Not so long ago in some parts of this country, she would have been denied both her seat at this table and her vote. Denny is one of a hundred photographers  invited by Meg Griffiths and Frances Jakubek to respond, reflect and react to the centennial of the 19th Amendment in 2020 giving American women the right to vote. This timely collaborative project called A Yellow Rose Project was initiated in 2020 and has now traveled the country in various iterations. The current installation, sequenced by Jakubek, is on view at the Griffin Museum of Photography through November 30th, 2025.

Feature Image: “Nana at Henry Public Saloon” by Frances F. Denny, courtesy of the artist, A Yellow Rose Project, ClampArt, NYC and the Griffin Museum of Photography.

“Alexandria and Shirley” by Sheri Lynn Behr, courtesy of the artist, A Yellow Rose Project and the Griffin Museum of Photography

“Ellie Dahmer” by Carolyn McIntyre Norton and Betty Press, courtesy of the artists, A Yellow Rose Project and the Griffin Museum of Photography.

“New Jersey Voter Registration Form” by Frances Jakubek, courtesy of the artist, A Yellow Rose Project and the Griffin Museum of Photography.

Technically, the 19th Amendment guaranteed the right of every American woman to vote. In practical terms, however, it was not until the mid-1960’s, when the Voting Rights Act was passed, that women of color, who had been disenfranchised through intimidation and a morass of state and local laws, could finally cast a ballot. The struggle for voting and civil rights was hard won, and until recently, many of us have taken those sacrifices for granted. Permeating this exhibition are the ghosts of the women who fought with grit to be heard. Sheri Lynn Behr’s graphic portrait of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is haunted by the faint palimpsest of Shirley Chisholm who was the first Black woman to serve in Congress and who ran for President in 1972. Carolyn McIntyre Norton and Betty Press photographed Ellie Davis Dahmer who used her anger and grief after the murder of her husband to improve voting rights in Mississippi, while Jakubek’s New Jersey Voter Registration Form underlines the historic distortions in enforcing the 19th Amendment.

“Equality Then and Now” by Megan Jacobs, courtesy of the artist, A Yellow Rose Project and the Griffin Museum of Photography.

“Ida’s Shadow” by Anne Berry, courtesy of the artist, A Yellow Rose Project and the Griffin Museum of Photography.

“Untitled” by Jennifer McClure, courtesy of the artist, A Yellow Rose Project and the Griffin Museum of Photography.

“Enough” by Letitia Huckaby from the series Sugar and Spice, courtesy of the artist,  A Yellow Rose Project and the Griffin Museum of Photography.

The juxtaposition of past and future echo throughout. Megan Jacobs unites the suffragist Julia Marlowe with a generation Z feminist Tilcara Web whose faces align across the century. Anne Berry’s affecting portrait of a toddler holding a photograph of her ancestor speaks to a generational impetus for a more just world. Jennifer McClure’s picture of her daughter looking through their window in Harlem at a mural on the opposite wall is a daily reminder of historic systems of oppression. Letitia Huckaby weaves ideas around Black and American history in her portrait of her daughter that recalls Norman Rockwell’s “The Problem We All Live With.” Her pink skirt, untied shoelace and reticent gesture are at odds with aggressive graffiti style lettering of a sign she holds that is spray painted with the word “Enough.” The word was declared by MLK, Jr.’s granddaughter to a crowd in 2018 to stem gun violence. What will the future hold for this young girl? 

“Charlotte” by Aline Smithson, from the series Women I Don’t Know courtesy of the artist, A Yellow Rose Project and the Griffin Museum of Photography.

“Untitled” by Yael Eban and Brea Souders, courtesy of the artists, A Yellow Rose Project and the Griffin Museum of Photography.

“Our Right” by Edie Bresler, courtesy of the artist, A Yellow Rose Project and the Griffin Museum of Photography.

“Uncertainty” by Manjari Sharma, courtesy of the artist, A Yellow Rose Project and the Griffin Museum of Photography.

Over and over again, I discovered images of hands that suggest connection, assistance and camaraderie. Aline Smithson breathed new life into vernacular snapshots of women from the suffragist era by clutching found vintage prints, while Yael Eban and Brea Souders appropriated images of hands raised in protest in homage to their offerings toward civil or voting rights. Edie Bresler created community by asking strangers in her neighborhood to sit for a twelve minute exposure atop her pre-coated cyanotype paper to form the silhouetted hands that clasp a string encircling the word “Choice.” Similarly, Manjari Sharma’s “Uncertainty” features the interlocking hands of two different ethnicities shrouded in the folds of kaleidoscopic mylar to forge a cohesive bond. All of these hands acknowledge a shared purpose of kinship.

“#180” by Rachel Loischild, courtesy of the artist, A Yellow Rose Project and the Griffin Museum of Photography.

“The Banner” by Sandra Klein, courtesy of the artist, A Yellow Rose Project and the Griffin Museum of Photography.

“Untitled #3” by Odette England, courtesy of the artist, A Yellow Rose Project and the Griffin Museum of Photography.

“Brooke” by Rania Matar, courtesy of the artist, A Yellow Rose Project, Robert Klein Gallery, Boston and the Griffin Museum of Photography.

We learn in the introduction to the show and its exhibition catalog that Tennessee was the 36th state to ratify the 19th Amendment, making it a permanent addition to the Constitution. Women in favor held yellow roses as the roll call for the vote occurred, so it is no surprise that several artists incorporated these beautiful blooms representing solidarity among the suffragists. Rachel Loischild employed a scanner to create a still-life inspired by the botanical paintings of Barbara Regina Dietz that celebrates scientific illustration, one area of the sciences where women were welcome. Sandra Klein and Odette England include the flower among found imagery to comment on the rights and representation of women through collage. Rania Matar’s portrait of a resolute “Brooke” holding a yellow rose becomes a symbol of resilience in a spare landscape. 

“Second Wave” by Lindsey Beal, courtesy of the artist, A Yellow Rose Project and the Griffin Museum of Photography.

The exhibition and the recently published book are masterpieces in layered and thoughtful discourse regarding these difficult histories and issues. They are bolstered by a broad sample of photographic voices and methods. Unfortunately, all remain relevant today. I found Lindsey Beal’s boxed prints of fading anthotypes featuring civil rights marches an apt metaphor for the reckless trampling of our civil rights by the current lawless administration, a complicit congress, and a partisan Supreme Court. A Yellow Rose Project offers a fresh reckoning with the annals of feminist thought and the heroic sacrifices endured in the fight for civil rights. It urges and inspires viewers to engage, and is a call to restore those rights that can ensure a more equitable future for all. Our children are watching. 

For more information and a schedule of related programming: https://griffinmuseum.org/show/ayrp/

For more information about A Yellow Rose Project: https://ayellowroseproject.com

To purchase the book: https://www.tamupress.com/book/9781648433139/a-yellow-rose-project/

“Yes” by Ashleigh Coleman, courtesy of the artist, A Yellow Rose Project and the Griffin Museum of Photography.

Participating artists in A Yellow Rose project are: Keliy Anderson-Staley, Kalee Appleton, Tami Bahat, Deedra Baker, Nancy Baron, Lindsey Beal, Sheri Lynn Behr, Katie Benjamin, Julia Bennett, Sara Bennett, Anne J Berry, Christa Bowden, Edie Bresler, Lily Brooks, Ellen Carey, Patty Carroll, Tracy L Chandler, Elizabeth M Claffey, Ashleigh Coleman, Tara Cronin, Frances F Denny, K.K. Depaul, Rebecca Drolen, Yael Eban & Brea Souders, Odette England, Carol Erb, Tsar Fedorsky, Ellen Feldman, Marina Font, Preston Gannaway, Anna George, Susan Kae Grant, Meg Griffiths, Sarah Hadley, Alice Hargrave, Carla Jay Harris, Chehalis Deane Hegner, Ileana Doble Hernandez, Bootsy Holler, Sarah Hoskins, Letitia Huckaby, Cindy Hwang, Megan Jacobs, Frances Jakubek, Ina Jang, Farah Janjua, Jordana Kalman, Priya Kambli, Marky Kauffmann, Ashley Kauschinger, Kat Kiernan, Heidi Kirkpatrick, Sandra Klein, Katelyn Kopenhaver, Molly Lamb, Kathya Maria Landeros, Rachel Loischild, Sara Macel, S. Billie Mandle, Rania Matar, Lisa McCarty, Noelle McCleaf, Jennifer McClure, Mary Beth Meehan, Yvette Meltzer, Leigh Merrill, Diane Meyer, Jeanine Michna-Bales, Laura E Migliorino, Hye-Ryoung Min, Alyssa Minahan, Greer Muldowney, Colleen Mullins, Carolyn Mcintyre Norton & Betty Press, Emily Peacock, Toni Pepe, Rachel Pillips, Sarah Pollman, Greta Pratt, Thalassa Raasch, Larissa Ramey, Astrid Reischwitz, Tamara Reynolds, Paula Riff, Susan Rosenberg Jones, Claudia Ruiz Gustafson, Serrah Russell, Gail Samuelson, Kris Sanford, Kyra Schmidt, Maude Schuyler Clay, Manjari Sharma, Emily Sheffer, Aline Smithson, Joni Sternbach, Kristine Thompson, Amy Thompson Avishai, Sasha Tivetsky, Maria Triller, Malanie Walker, Claire A Warden, Rana Young, Cassandra Zampini, and Karen Zusman.