Harriet Tubman Museum Coming To New Jersey In 2020
Abolitionist Harriet Tubman will be honored next year with the opening of a new museum in New Jersey.
According to Amsterdam News, the Harriet Tubman Museum will open in 2020 on Juneteenth (June 19), the day the last enslaved people were freed in the United States.
ABC News reported the museum will be located next to the historic Macedonia Baptist Church in Cape May, a town where Tubman often worked.
Amsterdam News reports the community is currently raising money to fund the materials needed for the museum’s construction. Nearly $160,000 has already been collected for the $500,000 goal, according to Amsterdam News.
Zack Mullock, a Cape May city councilman who is managing the museum's construction, told ABC they hope to preserve "a major part of history that has disappeared."
The exhibit will include items from the Underground Railroad, African-American art, and pieces from Rev. Robert Davis, the pastor of Macedonia Baptist who died in 2015.
“It is important to remember the vital contribution of African Americans with regards to the role they played in the history of our county and to ensure that it is preserved for future generations,” said County Freeholder Director Gerald M. Thornton, Amsterdam News reports.
Eugene Dempsey, an 82-year-old man from Cape May, told ABC that he thinks the museum will be “a place for the kids to extend their learning” about Tubman.
"There’s so much black history ... it’s unbelievable," he said. "There’s just the history of the background of Harriet Tubman. What she did was amazing ... what she did as a woman ... it’s just a wonderful thing."
The museum plans to have a screening of Harriet, the new film about the abolitionist, on opening day.
