Edmonia Lewis

Mary Edmonia Lewis was an American sculptor of mixed African-American and Native American heritage. She was the first known female BIPOC sculptor. She attended Oberlin College, which at the time was considered very progressive for allowing women and BIPOC to attend. Sadly, Edmonia endured many prejudices like being accused of poisoning her white housemates and being physically attacked. Eventually the college pushed her out by not allowing her to re-enroll. She moved to Rome where she had a thriving sculpture practice, while also being profiled and fetishized for her ethnicity. Edmonia was both black and indigenous (Chippewa) and is known for representing her cultural heritage and prominent abolitionists with dignity, where previous sculptors had not done so.