Authorities in Newark are paying a colossal monument to a renowned American abolitionist.
Now prominently visible in Downtown Newark is the Harriet Tubman memorial.
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Her great-great-great-great-grandnieces attended the special event on Thursday at Harriet Tubman Plaza on Broad Street at Washington Place, where the monument was unveiled.
“It’s phenomenal, it’s emotional, it’s breathtaking and it is impressive,” remarked relative Michelle Jones-Galvin.
Adrianne Jones-Roderic, a relative, remarked, “Aunt Harriet has transcended not just to our family but through all of humanity which I love.”
Workers changed Washington Park to Harriet Tubman Plaza in a formal ceremony during the summer.
The enormous artwork was chosen by Newark officials as a permanent memorial to Tubman’s achievements.
One of the most famous Underground Railroad drivers after escaping slavery, was Tubman.
A statue of Christopher Columbus that the city dismantled in 2020 has been replaced by the Harriet Tubman statue.
“In a time when so many cities are choosing to topple statues that limit the scope of their people’s story, we have chosen to erect a monument that spurs us into our future story of exemplary strength and solidity. In a country where the overwhelming majority of monuments are testaments to white males, Newark has chosen to erect a monument to a Black woman who was barely five feet tall, but had the visage and power of a giant,” stated Mayor Baraka.
He noted, “We have created a focal point in the heart of our city that expresses our participation in an ongoing living history of a people who have grappled through many conflicts to steadily lead our nation in its progress toward racial equality.”
The interactive ode to the abolitionist was created by Queen Latifah in collaboration with Newark-based Audible.
“It has truly been about history, legacy, home, inspiration to our future,” Queen Latifah noted.
