NATIONAL JUNETEENTH MUSEUM MOVES CLOSER TO REALITY ON THE ‘GRANDMOTHER OF JUNETEENTH' DR. OPAL LEE’S 100TH BIRTHDAY

On Dr. Opal Lee’s centennial birthday, the National Juneteenth Museum reached a major milestone as demolition began on the Historic Southside Community Center in Fort Worth, Texas – the future site of the museum. The milestone was celebrated with a ceremony attended by Dr. Lee, Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker, government officials, community members, museum supporters, and the design team. Designed by BIG and Alligood Song Architects with KAI Enterprises and the local Fort Worth community, the 72,000-sq-ft museum is envisioned as the new national and global destination for the education, preservation, and celebration of Juneteenth, the holiday commemorating the day in 1865 when news of emancipation reached enslaved people in Galveston, Texas. The mass timber building includes immersive galleries, a business incubator, a food hall, a flexible black box event space, and a theater. Its undulating roof creates a series of ridges, peaks, and valleys of varying heights that combine to create a ‘nova star’ shaped courtyard in the middle, which acts as an anchor for the museum and its activities. The Historic Southside Community Center recently relocated operations to less than a mile away to the Hazel Harvey Peace Center for Neighborhood.