Thursday ceremony to unveil bust of Lawton leader Barbara Curry

A community activist known for her strong support of women’s political initiatives will be honored in a special ceremony Thursday.

Women that VOTE Arts Corporation will unveil a bronze bust of Barbara Curry at 5:30 p.m. at Lawton Farmers Market, 77 SW 4th. Curry, who died in August 2022, founded Women that VOTE! as an organization designed to get women involved in politics and the voting process, and members of that organization want to honor her memory, said longtime member Jennifer Ellis.

“She was dedicated to encouraging women to run for office, encouraging women to vote and be politically aware in communities, the state and nation,” Ellis said. “And she also wanted to honor women associated with the suffrage movement.”

At the time of her death, Curry was spearheading a fundraising effort for Celebrating Suffrage, a bronze statue intended to honor the women’s suffrage and civil rights movements. Tulsa sculptor Denise Ford had been designated to work on that monument. Ellis said the monument was Curry’s dream in that it highlighted women of different races and nationalities, with local women tapped to provide the faces for the five women to be depicted in that sculpture.

Women that VOTE Arts Corporation has pivoted from that original plan, tapping Ford to instead create a bronze bust of Curry. That is what will be unveiled Thursday.

“We wanted to turn it around and honor her,” Ellis said, explaining that with the blessing of Curry’s family, the group asked photographer Chris Martin to supply the images that Ford used to create her bust. “Thursday, that unveiling is to honor her and what she did for our community.”

Ellis said Ford and Martin will be at the ceremony to participate in the unveiling.

Women that VOTE Arts Corporation will hold the ceremony inside Lawton Farmers Market, then designate a temporary home for the bust until members can coordinate with the City of Lawton for placement in nearby Ned Shepler Park. Lawton Enhancement Trust Authority is coordinating a fundraising effort to pay for upgrades to the park, and one planned improvement is an art garden. The park also was to have been the home for the Celebrating Suffrage monument, and there are already memorial benches and lighting on its west side to mark the spot.

Ellis said the group will finish several more memorial benches, which will mark completion of the suffrage project.

Those who knew Curry said Thursday’s dedication ceremony will celebrate the memory of a woman deeply involved in her community.

“She epitomized the volunteer spirit of Lawton-Fort Sill,” Ellis said. “She was that welcoming, encouraging, mentoring person who I would look to for guidance. She was just everybody’s sister and friend and mama, if you needed them.”