Famed abolitionist and Black freedom fighter Harriet Tubman will be honored with a new museum in New Jersey in 2020.
Officials for the Macedonia Baptist Church in Cape May announced plans to renovate former pastor Robert Davis' home to serve as the new museum.
According to The Associated Press, Tubman lived in Cape May, where she raised funds to liberate enslaved Black people in the South, in the 1850s.
In addition to highlighting Tubman, the museum will also showcase the history of the once thriving Black community of Cape May.
Developer Bob Mullock told WHYY the museum will soon become a fixture in the town.
“It would be a permanent exhibit there so that people would understand and appreciate that this was part of Cape May at that time,” Mullock said. “At one time, the population of Cape May was 30 percent African-American, that’s what the records show.”
During the end of President Barack Obama's presidency, there were efforts to replace slave-owning President Andrew Jackson with Tubman on the $20 bill. There is speculation the new currency will be released in 2020.
Officials hope to open the museum doors by the same time.
Reports state the new museum will feature a collection of historical artifacts, provide history lessons and become an educational facility for local schools.
“[Davis] had a collection of historic slavery items that he would take to various schools to talk about the slave issues,” Mullock said.
According to WHYY, there are other matters to take care of before it is accessible to all. Planners are now in the process of raising $700,000 to lift the building and prevent future flooding.
Mullock is calling on the community to chip in and enhance public interest in the legacy of Tubman, as well as that of Cape May.
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