March 17, 2025
One of many cities that has emerged as a contender for the museum is St. Augustine.
Again in Could 2024, the State of Florida’s Florida Museum of Black Historical past chosen St. Johns County to host the state’s first Black Historical past Museum, however throughout a listening to on March 11, a number of cities have been floated as potential websites for the proposed museum, every with their very own connections to Black historical past in Florida.
In response to Politico, one of many cities that has emerged as a contender for the museum is St. Augustine, which was backed by a number of neighborhood members in St. Johns County and town itself within the listening to as they accentuated Fort Mose, which was positioned in St. Augustine, the primary free Black settlement in the USA and the primary place the place Black individuals have been born free.
Horace Hord, the chairman of the Florida Memorial College Basis Inc., instructed the outlet that the dialogue over the location of the museum is about far more than simply land.“It’s extra than simply land,” Hord mentioned. “It’s sacred floor for telling the total, wealthy and sometimes neglected historical past of Black Floridians.”
Though a invoice supporting St. Johns County’s efforts to host the museum, SB 466, was handed unanimously by the Florida Senate Committee on Group Affairs, different lawmakers have additionally supported bids for cities like Eatonville, the house of celebrated novelist and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston, and Opa-locka.
These lawmakers cited the necessity for a radical examination of how all the proposed areas would work as websites for the museum, as a result of, amongst different issues, the museum must be financially safe.
To that finish, Michael Dobson, a enterprise developer and guide from Central Florida who additionally want to see the museum positioned in Eatonville, really helpful that the Florida Legislature request a examine to find out which of the areas could be most sustainable over the long-term, but in addition famous Eatonville’s location relative to Orlando, a high vacationer location.
Dobson additionally criticized the collection of St. Johns County as the location for the museum, telling Politico after the listening to that “you actually can’t examine” foot site visitors in St. Augustine with foot site visitors in Orange County, and mentioned that St. Johns is “not the most effective location for quite a lot of causes, significantly if we’re excited about making a sensible funding with state tax {dollars}.”
Florida State Sen. Shevrin Jones (D-Miami) was unable to attend a part of the listening to as a result of a invoice he sponsored was up for a vote in one other room, however instructed Politico that he’s “excited this can be a dialogue and even occurring” but in addition believes like Dobson does that it’s best that every location be evaluated to maintain lawmakers from “making an attempt to do all the things attainable to keep up and preserve the location” a couple of years down the road.
Commissioner Sarah Arnold, who represents District 2, which comprises St. Augustine, signaled her pleasure relating to the vote by the Senate Group Affairs Committee in a information launch from St. Johns County. Arnold additionally thanked the neighborhood for touring to Tallahassee in assist of the invoice.
“I’m past excited concerning the choice by the Group Affairs Committee,” Commissioner Arnold mentioned. “It’s one other step ahead on our journey to make the dream of the Florida Museum of Black Historical past in St. Johns County a actuality. I reward the neighborhood for touring with us to Tallahassee to reveal their ongoing assist for this undertaking.”
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