Stories of Black Liberation Give Voice to Harriet Tubman Monument

“Harriet Tubman’s legacy and the stories of liberation through our own community have now come to life,” says fayemi shakur, Director of Arts and Culture for the city of Newark, about Audible’s first-ever public audio installation created for Shadow of a Face, the recently erected monument of Harriet Tubman in Newark’s Harriet Tubman Square.

In the immersive, interactive audio experience, performed in part by Queen Latifah, visitors to the monument journey alongside Harriet Tubman through her early life to her narrow escape from enslavement, and to her brave missions to rescue others. Creative design and engineering and technical precision enabled mapping of the audio to the monument through multiple speakers installed in and around it. The result is an inspiring, multisensory experience that celebrates and amplifies Tubman’s story, as well as more recent stories of Black liberation in Newark.

Watch how the audio experience came together, from vision to execution:

The installation, which represents one of Audible’s many neighborhood investments and our commitment to amplifying diverse voices, was brought to life by a collaboration between Audible; the monument artist, Nina Cooke John; Newark leaders including shakur and Mayor Ras J. Baraka; design firms HonkTweet and Arup, which created the installation’s sound mapping; Pia Wilson, who wrote the audio’s script; and a talented cast of performers including Latifah, Korey Jackson and Joniece Abbott-Pratt.

Since the monument’s unveiling a year ago, the project’s impact has been recognized with multiple awards, including an Anthem Award, a Digiday Greater Good Award, and two Shorty Impact Awards. The audio installation, titled Monumental: Harriet Tubman and Newark’s Liberation Movement, is also available free to listeners worldwide on Audible.