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City of Women

City of Women

Two framed portraits hang on a wall above a white couch. at The Lady, South Carolina

See Historic Columbia and WREN's City of Women from a new perspective, reimagined through emerging artist Jessica E. Boyd's effervescent, pop-art style. Jessica's digital portraits bring modernity, color, and personality to some of Columbia's most admired women. Our honorees are paired together with the hope of sparking our own conversations about leadership, community, and the local women that make it happen.


Our pairings are reimagined in conversation with one another, sharing stories, knowledge, and life lessons - celebrating victories and overcoming heartache - allowing us to eavesdrop and envision what these two revered women would say to one another. Some have cultural or personal ties, others have similar backgrounds and leadership. All have a story to tell.

This thoughtful display celebrates the life and work of the City of Women honorees, giving us another opportunity to showcase their personalities and visions for a better Columbia.

an old woman standing in a room with a tv at The Lady, South Carolina

Columbia City of Women Honoree

Modjeska Monteith Simkins

DEC. 5, 1899 - APR. 5, 1992

On May 17, 1954, the US Supreme Court’s ruling in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka struck down racial segregation in schools, effectively overturning the “separate but equal doctrine” codified in Plessy v. Ferguson nearly 60 years before. For Modjeska Monteith Simkins, who co-authored the petition that became Briggs v. Elliott, one of the five cases that comprised the Brown decision, the Supreme Court’s ruling was far from either the beginning or the end of a lifetime spent fighting for human rights. Over the course of her 92 years, she displayed a courage and perseverance that many argue was unmatched.

Columbia City of Women Honoree

Victoria L. Eslinger

1947-PRESENT

On May 12, 1971, The Gamecock student newspaper published an article by first-year law school student Victoria “Vickie” L. Eslinger. In it, she describes the plight of women in a pre-Roe v. Wade world. Although abortion was legal in New York, many women were being scammed by illegitimate agencies who had no connection to safe clinics and trained doctors. Out of money and options, these women were turning to illegal abortion “butchers” with devastating, and even fatal consequences. Eslinger, though, had a solution: a hotline, where volunteers connected anonymous callers to women’s health information. This referral service, which according to Eslinger “did not counsel or solicit, condemn or condone,” was the only one of its kind in South Carolina. It helped women, not just students, across the state. It was controversial at the time, but then, so was Eslinger. A staunch feminist, she was also fighting for women’s equality in the courts.

A woman with dark hair and a black blazer is speaking into a microphone. at The Lady, South Carolina
A woman with a blue head wrap is standing in front of a white background. at The Lady, South Carolina

Meet Emerging Artist:

Jessica E. Boyd

Jessica E. Boyd is a multi-hyphenate creative specializing in brand strategy, identity design, illustration, creative direction, and more. Her work amplifies and reimagines the Black American experience, with clients including Shondaland, Adobe, Zoom, A Peace of Soul Vegan Kitchen, and more. For her creative leadership in the local business and nonprofit community, she was awarded the inaugural Emerging Spirit Award by the Columbia Museum of Art's Friends of African American Art & Culture in 2019. She is an alumna of Spelman College and received her MBA from North Carolina Central University. Through the Columbia City of Women initiative, a partnership between Historic Columbia and WREN, Jessica helps honor the notable women of our city with her effervescent, pop-art style digital portraits.