Monuments To Floyd, Tubman Replace Columbus In Newark – Patch.com

NEWARK, NJ — It’s not just about statues, some residents of New Jersey’s largest city say: it’s about social justice.

On Wednesday, three days before the Juneteenth holiday, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, actor and filmmaker Leon Pickney, artist Stanley Watts and other dignitaries unveiled a massive statue honoring George Floyd outside City Hall.

The 700-pound bronze statue – which was commissioned by Pickney, sculpted by Watts and donated to the city – will remain standing there for at least a year.

According to a statement from Baraka’s office, the artwork honors the life of Floyd, an African-American man who was “brutally murdered” by a white Minneapolis police officer.

“Mr. Floyd’s death elevated the Black Lives Matter movement, which has resulted in an international response, including protests, police reform measures and the removal of Confederate statues from public parks and racist names from organizations,” city officials said.

The installation of the tribute to Floyd is the latest example of an ongoing shift in public opinion when it comes to art in Newark.

Last year, municipal workers removed a well-known statue of Christopher Columbus from Washington Park that was donated to the city as a gift from the Italian American community in 1927.

“In keeping with the movement to remove symbols of oppression and white supremacy, we have decided to remove the statue,” Mayor Baraka said. “We took it down with city work crews in a safe and orderly manner, to avoid the potential danger of people taking it upon themselves to topple it.”

“The removal of this statue should not be perceived as an insult to the Italian American community,” Baraka added. “It is a statement against the barbarism, enslavement and oppression that this explorer represents.”

The decision to remove the statue inspired a massive public mural on Treat Place, which depicts a young, Black girl standing in front of its base. The organization behind the mural, the Four Corners Public Arts, is one of 40 local groups that received a grant from the city’s Creative Catalyst Fund.

In October 2020, the City of Newark announced that the Columbus statue will be replaced with a new monument honoring Harriet Tubman, the iconic abolitionist who led dozens of enslaved people to freedom via the Underground Railroad.

The city will also rename Washington Park to “Tubman Square” in 2022, when the new monument is expected to be installed.

“This monument will reflect how Newark honors one of our great pioneers and warriors, and therefore it should in turn reflect the views of our residents,” Baraka said.

Newark isn’t the only municipality in Essex County to bid farewell to a Columbus monument in the recent past.

Last year, West Orange Mayor Robert Parisi announced that the township was removing a monument to Christopher Columbus from a local intersection because it is “divisive” and a “symbol of hate and oppression.” Parisi said the decision was made after speaking to local residents and the organization that installed it and maintained it over the years.

Amid the debate, someone hung a sign reading “Murderer” around the 5-foot granite monument, which was installed in 1992 for the 500th anniversary of Columbus’ voyage to the Americas.

A pair of petitions — one demanding its removal and another urging its preservation — each garnered hundreds of signatures.

While many Essex County residents have enthusiastically supported removing Columbus monuments from their towns, others have been just as staunchly opposed.

Some members of the local Italian community have pushed back against the movement to replace his statues, insisting that Columbus is a hero deserving of respect.

In 2020, the Bloomfield-based Italian American Once Voice Coalition (IAOVC) released a video in an attempt to “set the record straight on Columbus” and what he encountered during his exploration of the Americas.

The IAOVC released a statement on the issue:

“Columbus Day, a great American holiday, which Italian Americans revere as their own, as well as Columbus statues and monuments, are under attack with a false narrative about untruths attributed to the great explorer. This part of the world was no ‘Garden of Eden’ when Columbus arrived … But revisionists are silent on these facts. No one holds Indigenous people to today’s standards, then why Columbus? He was a man of his times, and if you check the facts, according to reputable scholars and sources, he didn’t perpetrate the breadth of atrocities accorded to him.”

In an opinion piece posted to JerseyDigs.com earlier this week, a pundit wrote that the placement of Newark’s Harriet Tubman monument “repeats the mistake it was meant to address,” and “seems to embody a spirit of revenge, rather than reparation.”

“If Newark is sincere about creating public spaces that are free from symbols of cruelty, it should continue this work with thorough housekeeping of its government, school board and arts institutions,” the author stated. “But let’s not dig our heels into the ground like antiquated statues.”

HONORING BLACK LIVES WITH PUBLIC ART

Floyd and Tubman aren’t the only Black icons who have recently been honored with public art in Newark.

Last year, Newark city officials announced the completion of two new public murals in partnership with the Social Justice Public Art initiative, #MuralsforJustice.

The murals are an initiative led by Newark Arts and Cultural Affairs Director Fayemi Shakur which aims to create art that “speaks to the call for racial justice, equity and representation.”

One of the murals, dubbed “This Guiding Light,” is located on McCarter Highway between Edison Place and Lafayette Street. It’s a collaboration between an artist, Layqa Nuna Yawar, a photographer, Chrystofer Davis, and a poet, Jasmine Mans.

According to a statement from the City of Newark:

“The mural documents both the collaborative creative power present in Newark today, and the collective power seen manifested in protests across the U.S. this year. Movements for Black lives against voter suppression, racism, xenophobia and for social and climate justice overlapped during the COVID-19 pandemic. The same overlap is present in the work of artists and culture workers as they reflect and witness these moments: a guiding light toward a better tomorrow. The content of the mural is represented in the images captured by Mr. Davis across New Jersey, a poem created by Jasmine Mans and the interpreted mural composition by Layqa Nuna Yawar.”

“This Guiding Light” (photo courtesy of the City of Newark)

RISE UP FALLEN FIGHTERS

The second piece in the #MuralsforJustice initiative, “Rise Up Fallen Fighters,” is created by artist and president of Yendor Productions, Malcolm Rolling, in collaboration with artists Andrece Brady and Hans Lundy.

According to city officials:

“Celebrated poet Ntozake Shange is centered as a focal point to represent Black resilience, liberty and justice. Ms. Shange’s smiling image is surrounded by figurative symbols that were unused models of the Statue of Liberty gifted from France to the United States. A life-affirming quote from Ms. Shange’s iconic work, “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf,” is also featured. The mural was created in partnership with Lincoln Park Coast Cultural District, the home of Yendor’s beloved late founder Rodney Gilbert.”

The mural is located on Crawford Street in Newark’s Lincoln Park neighborhood.

“Rise Up Fallen Fighters” (photo courtesy of the City of Newark)

BLACK LIVES MATTER

In June 2020, hundreds of people came together to paint a massive tribute to the Black Lives Matter movement on two of Newark’s busiest streets.

Acting in partnership with the city, a coalition of community groups and local artists rolled up their sleeves and wrote a pair of slogans with 25-foot-long letters in yellow traffic paint.

The first message, “All Black Lives Matter,” took up an entire city block on Halsey Street, east of the Rutgers University campus. The second message, “Abolish White Supremacy,” found a home on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard between the Essex County Historic Courthouse and Veterans’ Courthouse.

Read the full article here.

THE TRUTH OF TRUTH

It’s been more than 150 years since Sojourner Truth earned a place in history fighting for women’s rights and abolition. But her messages of hope and justice are still as relevant today as they were in the 18th and 19th century.

Now, the many truths of Truth will live on in a huge, 30-foot piece of art on Edison Place, courtesy of local artist Grace Lynne Hayne.

“I learned about Sojourner Truth as a child, in grade school, and was always inspired by her tenacity, will and futuristic vision,” Haynes said. “I wanted to shed light on her legacy, which reminds women that no matter what has happened in their lives, they can still have a powerful impact on society.”

Read the full article here.

A TRIBUTE TO WHITNEY HOUSTON

The Brick City also recently saw the creation of a unique mural of musical icon Whitney Houston, who was born in Newark, attended Mount Saint Dominic Academy in Caldwell and was also a resident of East Orange and Mendham Township.

The 19-by-28 foot mural of Houston features more than 1,000 pounds of hand-cut glass, and is located at 45 Williams Street and placed on the façade of William House, a new mixed-use project.

“Having a presence in Newark is certainly an honor for Whitney’s Legacy,” said Pat Houston, executor of the estate of Whitney E. Houston.

Read the full article here.

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