Harriet Tubman Museum set to open in 2020 in New Jersey

The freedom fighter and abolitionist will be honored with a new museum in New Jersey, where she left part of her legacy

Nov 21, 2019
In this photo provided by the Library of Congress, Harriet Tubman in seen in a photograph dating from 1860-75. Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., and Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. are sponsoring legislation to bring a statue of Harriet Tubman to the U.S. Capitol Building. (Harvey B. Lindsley/Library of Congress via AP)

A museum honoring Harriet Tubman’s life and history is scheduled to open next year in New Jersey, in time fore her 200th birthday.

According to ABC News, next June The Harriet Tubman Museum will be launched in Cape May, a town where the abolitionist earned money as a hotel worker and cook, right next to Macedonia Baptist Church.

READ MORE: Rare photo of a young Harriet Tubman goes on display at NMAAHC

Cape May city councilman, Zack Mullock is overseeing construction of the upcoming landmark and told ABC that nearly $160,000 of the $500,000 needed for the exhibit to open has already been raised through donations from local institutions and members of the community.

The labor of love appears to be a family affair, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports, given that that it was actually Mullock’s father Bob Mullock who came up with the concept for the tribute to Tubman.

The Mullock family has also been in contact with the makers of the new movie Harriet, and plan to screen the feature film during the museum’s grand opening on June 19, 2020. The grand opening date was specifically chosen to coincide with both Juneteenth and what will be the 200th anniversary of her birth.

READ MORE: Confederate Site in Baltimore Rededicated to Harriet Tubman

On display at the museum will be Black art, including a collection of more modern pieces from Rev. Robert Davies, a Macedonia Baptist Church pastor who passed away in 2015. There will also be items from the Underground Railroad featured as well.

“There’s so much Black history … it’s unbelievable,” said Dempsey, an Air Force vet who’s lived in Cape May for over sixty years. “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,”

READ MORE: GirlTrek helps Black women battle the obesity epidemic by invoking the spirit of Harriet Tubman

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