Harriet Tubman monument replacing a Christopher Columbus statue in Newark is "poetic," mayor says

Almost a year ago, the city of Newark removed a Christopher Columbus statue amid the national reckoning spurred by the death of George Floyd. The city's mayor, Ras Baraka, recently revealed the design of the Harriet Tubman monument that will replace it. 

"I think it's a little better than what we envisioned," he told CBS News in an interview on Friday. "I think that it's going to turn out to be something great." Baraka said having Tubman take over Columbus' old spot in Washington Park was "poetic." As the nation continues to weigh the future of controversial statues, he said the monument felt like an opportunity to embrace history and Tubman's roots in the Garden State.