Shadow of a Face LIFESTYLE

t the heart of the city’s arts and education district, located just across the street from the Newark Museum of Art and the Newark Public Library is “Shadow of a Face.”

The monument honors abolitionist Harriet Tubman and New Jersey’s role in the Underground Railroad. New Jersey was an integral part of the network of routes, as southern slaves traveled through the state to head farther north and into Canada.

Designed by New Jersey architect and artist Nina Cooke John, the monument is located prominently in Harriet Tubman Square, an area for reflection that was dedicated and opened to the public earlier this year.

Queen Latifah, who performs an audio narrative to accompany the monument, was in attendance at the ribbon cutting. Other notables included Mayor Ras Baraka, First Lady Tammy Murphy, and Audible Founder Don Katz and numerous other dignitaries were in attendance. The Queen Latifah narrative is available on Audible titled Monumental: Harriet Tubman and Newark’s Liberation Movement. You can also hear the narrative as you walk around the monument and read names of community members etched in the surrounding wall.

The monument replaces a statue of Christopher Columbus that was removed in the summer of 2020.

—fayemi shakur

fayemi shakur is the director of Arts and Cultural Affairs for the City of Newark. She has held appointments as visiting lecturer at Rutgers University-Newark, Department of Art, Culture and Media and Artist Advisory Council member for Newark Arts (2019).