The Fort Worth City Council is pledging up to $15 million toward constructing a National Juneteenth Museum.
Juneteenth celebrates June 19, 1865, the day the Union troops came to Galveston and freed every remaining slave. In more recent years, there has been a movement within the black community to bring attention and celebration to the day.
Though the event took place in Galveston, the museum’s website states that Fort Worth is a fitting site because “North Texas served as a central part of the Southern Underground Railroad.” The museum will feature exhibits regarding North Texas’ contributions to the freeing of slaves.
Fort Worth activist Opal Lee spearheaded the campaign to make it a national holiday, which was achieved last year. Some even call her “the Grandmother of Juneteenth.” She expressed her delight at the prospect of a museum in the day’s honor to NBC calling it “fantastic” and “marvelous”.
She is now 95 and was in attendance at the city council meeting on Tuesday where the money was pledged.
The 50,000-square-foot museum will sit at the corner of Evans and Rosedale on Fort Worth’s Southside, costing around $70 million.
The city will not fulfill its pledge until all the money has been raised.
Lee says that “Juneteenth — freedom not for just Black folk. It’s for everybody.” She hopes the museum will impact everyone in the community, not just the black community.
The hope is to attract foot traffic of around 35,000 visitors a year. There is no set plan for construction dates or completion dates, as the city waits to see when its fund goals will be achieved.
Lee hopes she lives to see it fully constructed.
She stated, “life’s not promised to us so I want it to happen while I’m around.”