REPLACE the "Welcome to Ocean County" STATUE NOW with ART that Represents OUR COMMUNITY

• The “Welcome to Ocean County” monument is not representative of Ocean County at all. In fact, its very presence is unwelcoming. 
• This is NOT an ideal Ocean County family. Who is an ideal Ocean County Family? ALL OF US!
• When our county leadership accepts a gift of ART, it must do so with the INPUT of the entire COUNTY.
• What message does this statue send to everyone, particularly our children? LET'S MAKE A CHANGE! 

REPLACE the "Welcome to Ocean County" STATUE NOW and honor ALL the families of Ocean County!

In the great state of New Jersey, specifically Ocean County, New Jersey, it is a well-known tradition to exit the Garden State Parkway onto Route 37 and try to hold in all your excitement as you are only 15 minutes away from the beach!

Millions of people have made this same pilgrimage to escape their town or city and fall helplessly in love with Ocean County and the ocean itself. Some never left, because they loved it so much. I can still remember every light and Wawa on Route 37 all the way to the bridge.

I remember after Hurricane Sandy, our community was nearly destroyed. Our childhood homes were lost, new homes where new families were just beginning were lost, too. Still, the people of Ocean County (and New Jersey) persevered. 

The resilience of the people of New Jersey is legendary. One man made an entire career just singing about it. I will admit, his songs are very good.

Ocean County has a rich history of inviting tourists in to experience its charms and keeping those brave enough to stay. This group of people built the signature resilience and imagination of Ocean County. Our sense of humor draws upon all of it. Our vast array of cultural food, traditions, families, and religions all thrive on it. 

The “Welcome to Ocean County” monument is not representative of Ocean County at all. In fact, it's very presence is unwelcoming.

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What is the “Welcome to Ocean County” monument? Where is it?

Coming from Parkway North: As you make that great jug-handle (yeah that's right) off the GS Parkway and pull up to the first light at Exit 82 at the Route 37E and Rt. 166 intersection, with Crystal Diner to your left, you are greeted by a bronze statue of a white family, standing inside a clamshell, with the words "Welcome to Ocean County" shining above them. Location: (39.96318, -74.19960)

This very slender bronze dad, his wife, and kids stand in a seemingly ideal picture of what it's like to live as a family in Ocean County, New Jersey. 

The monument was erected in tribute to the resilient community of Ocean County after Hurricane Sandy.

Except, it doesn’t represent who we are at all. 

Who is Ocean County?

According to the 2010 Census, 15.6% of Ocean County is not Caucasian. But just the fact that Ocean County is certainly NOT all white, is just the tip of a big floating iceberg with hundreds of wonderful family picnics on it.

I remember Ocean County was the place I tried traditional Filipino Lumpia for the first time at a family party, where I listened to my best friend's grandmother talk about escaping Cuba under Castro's regime and fed us egg salad sandwiches with pepper, where I tried and failed to improve my Costa Rican accent and ate oxtail soup for the first time.

It was a place where I watched my black classmates join the student council, National Honor Society, then go on to TCNJ, and grow families and build careers here in New Jersey, despite the long history of racism in our state.

Sure, this bronze slender white man and his family shine in the sun and look like a few white people that pass through Ocean County. But if they stayed for any length of time, someone in your family would offer them some Tupperware food and cookies out of concern.

I just don’t think the slender white bronze heteronormative family embodies the energy or zest we are going to need to welcome everyone on the way to the beach. 

Frankly, our longtime friend and neighbor who waves to us at the corner of Washington Street and the 7/11 has been doing a better job.

Who is an ideal Ocean County Family? ALL OF US

Ocean County was a place where some of my closest friends and family got up the courage to tell me they were in love and did not care what that was supposed to look like. They went on to raise their beautiful families to be brave and resilient, too. 

Goodbye heteronormativity, we never needed you. We just needed each other.

What does this statue say about families that do not fit traditional gender roles?

What does this statue say about race?

Frankly, the statue says not all of us belong. And that’s just not the Ocean County I know. 

Ocean County is a place for brave and resilient people. It's a place that will welcome you with open arms, give you a little bit of a hard time, and love you forever. It is a place that honors families, has a sense of humor, invites you to dinner, and celebrates traditions throughout its entire population. 

This is not the welcome that my hometown deserves.

Please join me in requesting the following leadership to make a change:

REPLACE the "Welcome to Ocean County" STATUE NOW and honor ALL the families of Ocean County

• Maurice B. "Mo" Hill, Jr., Mayor of Toms River Township
• Joseph H. Vicari, Freeholder Director and Chairman: Senior Services and County Operations
• Jon H. Larson, Ph.D., President, Ocean County College,
• Commissioner Bahiyyah Abdullah, Ocean County Cultural and Heritage Commission
• Commissioner Alison Amelchenko, Ocean County Cultural and Heritage Commission
• Kevin W. Ahearn, Executive County Superintendent, Ocean County
• Ocean County Artists' Guild

Our gratitude to the donors for providing art for the community, but we must be more aware of what message this statue sends to all residents, particularly our children. LET'S MAKE A CHANGE!