Decolonizing monument making in Newark, NJ: the Harriet Tubman Memorial

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Archaeology of Marginalization and Resilience in the Northeast", at the 2024 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

In 2023, the city of Newark, NJ unveiled, Shadow of a Face, a new monument dedicated to Harriet Tubman and the activists of the underground railroad. The monumengt was placed in the space previously occupied by a monument to Christopher Columbus. Unlike this and other mmonuments in the city the Tubman memorial brings Harriett’s image etched in stone to eye level, conveying her as a person of the people and an activist with the people. A mosaic of tiles created by Newark residents during artist-led community workshops as well as recorded audio stories brings the works and voices of the people directly into the memorial. Tubman’s memorial eloquently and artistically imparts the ideals of equality, activism, and restorative justice.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2024   •
• Archaeology of Marginalization and Resilience in the Northeast

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow