Tubman, who may yet grace all $20 bills minted after 2030, made stops at the still-existing Old First Presbyterian Church on Broad Street while aiding escaped slaves on their journey through Newark. Baraka said the new monument would “make her experience real for all of us.” Its existence itself is a mild triumph considering the state’s previous rejection of Nina Cooke John’s proposal in June of last year. 

Today we celebrate legendary abolitionist Harriet Tubman, #BornOnThisDay. Founded in 1666, the “Old First” Presbyterian Church in Newark was historically used as a regular stop on the "Underground Railroad" for Harriet Tubman and others who traveled to escape enslavement. pic.twitter.com/egJLCw20Lz

— The Newark Museum of Art (@NewarkMuseumArt) March 10, 2021

The decision was eventually overruled to make way for the nearly 25-foot-tall monument. Speaking to the Times about her desire to keep a lasting vestige of its predecessor, Cooke John said “I’d love it in 10 years for someone to say, ‘What’s that?’ It needs to be part of the story of why the people of Newark decided it was important for it to come down and to have a monument to Harriet Tubman in what had been Washington Park.”