Monument to Harriet Tubman Replaces Christopher Columbus Statue in New Jersey

A new monument honoring legendary abolitionist Harriet Tubman has been installed in Newark, New Jersey.

The work of art is called Shadow of a Face, which is a line from a Robert Hayden poem. The monument is located where a statue of famous colonizer Christopher Columbus stood until it was removed in 2020.

Shadow of a Face was created by acclaimed architect Nina Cooke John, a Black designer who was born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica and is now based out of New York.

“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,” stated Newark’s Mayor Ras Baraka.

“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.”

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