The National Juneteenth Museum received $10 million from Texas lawmakers for its development in Fort Worth’s Historic Southside, museum CEO Jarred Howard confirmed to the Report June 9.
The Texas House and Senate approved the allocation through the state budget, but it still awaits Gov. Greg Abbott’s signature.
Howard said the state’s new financial support was a bipartisan effort, adding that Sen. Kelly Hancock, R-North Richland Hills, and Rep. Nicole Collier, D-Fort Worth, were two of the Tarrant County leaders involved in the fundraising campaign. Neither responded to a request for comment by publication time.
“We are thrilled the Legislature saw the value in the work that we’re doing around Juneteenth and in the Historic Southside and are happy to partner with them on this historic project,” Howard told the Report. “They understand that Juneteenth is significant to American history, to the American tapestry.”
Lawmakers previously committed $1 million to the project in 2023 after the “Grandmother of Juneteenth” Opal Lee and other supporters pushed for a $15 million pledge in the state budget. Although that campaign wasn’t as successful as they hoped, the museum pressed ahead in the 2025 session.
The state contribution marks the second-biggest pledge the museum has received, following the city of Fort Worth’s $15 million commitment in February.
The Juneteenth museum has now raised $50 million — over two-thirds of its $70 million goal to start building.
The museum is expected to be built on the property where the Southside Community Center currently sits. Once museum construction begins, the community center’s services will relocate less than half a mile away to the Hazel Harvey Peace Center for Neighborhoods at 818 Missouri Ave.
The 50,000-square-foot National Juneteenth Museum will house exhibit galleries, a Black Box space, business incubator, food hall, courtyard, green space and a 250-seat theater for lectures, performances and speakers. The museum space would be located on the second floor of a two-story building.
City officials first floated the idea of tearing down the community center to make way for the museum in October 2024. The plan solved one of the Juneteenth museum’s most pressing problems. Despite acquiring land in the neighborhood, project leaders were unable to acquire plots necessary for its original development plans.
Fort Worth council member Chris Nettles, who represents the Historic Southside, said he’s excited to see the state come on board to support the museum’s construction efforts, adding the project highlights a part of history that has “not always been spoken about.”
“We believe it is going to be a destination here in Fort Worth and for Texas overall,” he told the Report. “We’re talking about one of the most historical, newest national museums for United States of America. It’s going to bring dollars and economic development to Fort Worth and we’re excited about it.”
The Juneteenth museum has pushed back its completion date several times since it was formally announced in December 2021. Museum leaders initially planned to break ground in the first quarter of 2023 for a mid-2025 grand opening. The tentative date was later pushed with plans for a 2026 opening.
Howard declined to comment on when the Juneteenth museum is expected to open, but said the nonprofit’s priority is breaking ground as soon as possible.
“We’re going to use these (state) monies as quickly as we possibly can, hopefully to collaborate with the city to expedite groundbreaking,” he said.
David Moreno is the arts and culture reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at david.moreno@fortworthreport.org or @davidmreports.
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