History & Design

Our History

Our artwork was inspired by the first Women’s March on Washington in 2017. Our original design -- nearly identical to our current design -- was carried in the form of banners, posters and t-shirts in six state marches and in the National March in Washington, D.C. Due to enthusiastic responses to our work, we launched our business in 2018 in order to spread our positive messages and to inspire others to continue fighting for social justice. Commercial Artist, Dee Etzwiler, CEO of Marching In Their Footsteps, created our designs.

Artwork Design & Symbolism

It was difficult for us to finalize our choice of 19 women to include in our design, as there are so many remarkable women who have fought for women's rights and civil rights in our country. Of the many goals we tried to achieve, one was our effort to create a group of women who represent a diversity in backgrounds, races, religions, and sexual orientations. Although 19 women cannot fully represent all forms of diversity, we wanted our design to celebrate the fact that in order to bring positive changes in our world, it requires impassioned people who have a wide range of experiences, knowledge and strengths to come forward over the course of time.

There are 19 women depicted in this artwork. The number 19 symbolizes the 19th Amendment that passed in 1920 that gave women the right to vote. However, even with the passage of the 19th Amendment, many states practiced discriminatory voting practices by deliberately preventing minorities to vote. It wasn't until the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965 that outlawed this discrimination. But in 2013, a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case (Shelby County v. Holder) gutted a key provision of the Voting Rights Act, opening gateways for voter discrimination such as voter-ID laws, redrawing district lines, and purging voter rolls. The fight to ensure equal voting opportunities for all American citizens is not yet over.

The large colorful bands with text in our design make reference to billboards, symbolizing the headlines and controversies these women created through their tireless work on behalf of social justice.

The scratched and textured background symbolizes the grit and determination of the activists and the pain and triumphs they endured.

The names next to each portrait give recognition to each individual and are there for educational purposes.

The 19 Activists

The women depicted in the artwork include: Bella Abzug, Shirley Chisholm, Septima P. Clark, Angela Davis, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Dorothy Height, Julia Ward Howe, Dolores Huerta, Coretta Scott King, Wilma Mankiller, Patsy Mink, Rosa Parks, Syliva Rae Rivera, Eleanor Roosevelt, Gloria Steinem, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Ida B. Wells, Edith Windsor

To learn more about the contributions of these women, please visit our ‘19 Women’ page.