Hoping Planners of Hinds Plaza Refurbishment Consider Artwork as Expression of Community
To the Editor:
I read with interest the proposed plans for refurbishing the Hinds Plaza [“Council Hears Report From Consulting Firm on Revitalizing Hinds Plaza,” October 30, page 1]. I was on the committee that selected the art for the plaza. Recently the Princeton Public Library began to put together the history of the plaza, and I gave my records of our meetings to the library.
As mentioned in the article, Shirley Satterfield was on the committee. James Floyd was also on the committee. Members of our community will remember Jim as the first African American mayor of Princeton (Township).
I became concerned in reading the article because there didn’t seem to be recognition of the fact that the plaques are part of a sculpture designed by the artist Tom Nussbaum. Removing the plaques and placing them elsewhere would violate the work of art. Our committee had long discussions about how to honor Mr. Hinds. In unanimous agreement, we approved Jim Floyd’s idea of a gate which would be placed in such a way that it would signify unity between the Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood in Princeton, the former Black section of town, and the Nassau Street–University white section of Princeton. The gate would always be open honoring Mr. Hinds for his many efforts to bring the white and Black members of the community together.
Below is a quote by Kyle Burkhardt stating how she was inspired by the gates. It was published in a Princeton Public Library release about an exhibition of her embroidery:
“Born on April 14, 1902 in the Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood, Mr. Hinds lived until the age of 104. He contributed to the Princeton community in a myriad of ways, including paving Nassau Street, directing the YMCA, maintaining the Princeton Public Library’s furnace at its previous Bainbridge House location, and co-leading historical walking tours, among many others. . . . Two sets of brushed stainless steel gates and two plaques honoring Mr. Hinds, created by NJ artist Tom Nussbaum, were installed in the plaza in 2013. . . . One gate says ‘it’s always the right time’; the other says ‘to do the right thing.’ This was one of Mr. Hinds’ favorite sayings, and a play on Martin Luther King Jr.’s ‘The time is right to do what is right.’ Most of the circles are American quilting motifs, one mimics the hubcap of Mr. Hinds’ car. The horizontal and vertical motifs are from West African textiles. . .”
There is another artwork in the Plaza as well — the covers for the circles of earth around the trees. The covers are etched with the equation for nuclear fission, as a reference to Albert Einstein, J. Robert Oppenheimer, and the Institute for Advanced Study’s role in advancing nuclear science.
As they proceed, I hope the planners will consider the meaning of the sculptures in the Plaza and how they are an expression of the Princeton community.