‘It is going to be a beacon of light.’ City approves National Juneteenth Museum’s new site
With Opal Lee, the “grandmother of Juneteenth” in attendance, the Fort Worth City Council unanimously approved a resolution Tuesday night to develop and lease land to the National Juneteenth Museum.
The city will lease the Southside Community Center property — where the National Juneteenth Museum will be constructed — and relocate programs in the center to the Hazel Harvey Peace Center for Neighborhoods, according to the resolution.
The city will contribute up to $15 million to the museum and lease the land to the museum for 40 years, which is contingent on the museum breaking ground on or before Oct. 31, 2027, according to the resolution. Councilman Chris Nettles, whose district includes Historic Southside, amended the date before the vote was cast.
Nettles said he wanted to make sure Southside residents will continue to have a safe space when the community center transition to the Hazel Harvey Peace Center.
“We can”t lose our history because our history is what we are,” Nettles said. “So I believe the National Juneteenth Museum is going to bring that history to Fort Worth. It is going to be a beacon of light.”
Tuesday’s vote comes a week after city officials met with Historic Southside residents on their plan to move the museum from vacant land in the 900 block of East Rosedale Street to the Southside Community Center location at 959 E Rosedale St.
Nettles assured residents the Southside Community Center and its programs will be moved to the first floor of the Hazel Harvey Peace Center. Programs like Meals on Wheels, Best Years Club, and partner programs such as the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program will be moved to the new space.
All the programs and services will stay at the Southside Community Center until the museum breaks ground.
Jarred Howard, CEO of the National Juneteenth Museum, received unanimous approval by the Historic Southside Neighborhood Association during a Sept. 9 meeting to move the museum’s location to where the community center stands.
The 50,000-square-foot cultural hub will be a new travel destination, provide educational programs, and serve as a catalyst for economic growth in the Historic Southside. It will have a 250-seat theater, a Black Box flexible space for traveling exhibitions and functions, exhibition galleries, a food hall, and a plaza for gatherings.
The museum also released new renderings to show the vision for the future of the museum.
Opal Lee symbolically walked 1,400 miles from Fort Worth to Washington, D.C., in 2016 to bring attention to the importance of the Juneteenth holiday. In 2021, Lee, who lives in Fort Worth, was in attendance when President Joe Biden signed legislation to make Juneteenth a national holiday.
Mayor Mattie Parker congratulated Nettles, the city staff, the museum — and most importantly Lee — for their hard work of making this museum’s development possible.
“We would not be here without Opal Lee,” Parker said. “She truly is a force for good and we’re all thrilled that she choose to commit so much time and effort to make this dream possible here in her city, in the city of Fort Worth.”
