Nearly a year after Newark officials took down a statue of Christopher Columbus, they’ve found a replacement for the disgraced explorer.
A monument honoring civil rights icon Harriet Tubman has been selected to replace the Washington Park statue, says Newark Mayor Ras Baraka. “It is only fitting that we memorialize Tubman’s heroic efforts leading enslaved Africans to freedom via the Underground Railroad at this time of year when we celebrate the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States,” Baraka says.
The statue is expected to be erected sometime next summer, Baraka says. When it is, Washington Park will be rechristened “Tubman Square,” city officials reveal.
Is Tubman a good choice? One hundred years from now, will Columbus even be a footnote in U.S. history?