Emma Watson and Reni Eddo-Lodge Are Teaming up to Recognize Notable Women in a Public History Project

Actress Emma Watson, journalist Reni Eddo-Lodge, and writer Rebecca Solnit are working on a public history project using the classic London Underground map to recognize notable women through the ages. 

Watson, Eddo-Lodge, and Solnit are partnering with The Women of the World Foundation to re-name each stop on the Tube map after a woman, non-binary person, or group. The idea was inspired by the City of Women New York subway map that Solnit and geographer Joshua Jelly-Schapiro published in their book Nonstop Metropolis: A New York City Atlas. Eddo-Lodge is asking followers on social media for suggestions of women and non-binary Londoners to be featured in the project.

“How does it impact our imaginations that so many places in so many cities are named after men and so few after women?” wrote Solnit. “What kind of landscape do we move through when streets and parks and statues and bridges are gendered… and it’s usually one gender and not another?”

Eddo-Lodge was the first black British author to top book charts with her non-fiction book Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race. You can read more about her thoughts on the book’s success here.

I’ve been plotting alongside Rebecca Solnit, @emmawatson and @WOWisGlobal launch a public history project – reimagining @TfL’s Tube map by naming stops after women who’ve made their mark on the city. Would love to know who should rep your local station: https://t.co/Qy7w1Sv0Wh

— Reni Eddo-Lodge (@renireni) July 20, 2020

The WOW Foundation was founded in 2010 to celebrate women and girls and to promote gender equality. Based in London, the foundation partners with women and organizations worldwide.

Click here to submit suggestions for the project. Follow @renieddolodge on Instagram and @renireni on Twitter for updates.