Building the National Juneteenth Museum as part of 3 new homes in Fort Worth

"You know, it seems that fate has touched us, and change has come to Fort Worth." says Dr. John Barnett Jr.

Three new cultural centers and museums are in different stages of development in Fort Worth. All three will address African-American art and history — but they'll still be very different.

The National Juneteenth Museum, just like The Fred Rouse Center for Arts and Community Healing, is taking a community-service approach. But on a notably larger scale.

Naturally, the museum will celebrate what Juneteenth represents: The moment in 1865 when enslaved Blacks in Texas learned they were free. But Dione Sims, the museum’s executive director, says the range of the museum will be wider and richer than a single event. It'll explore the history and broader meanings of freedom itself.

And more locally, "we're wanting to help restore the Historic Southside," Sims said. "I think it's an underserved community that was once a thriving bed of commerce, of economic development, of culture."

To that end, the design for the Juneteenth Museum on East Rosedale near I-35 will address the needs of neighborhood residents with affordable housing, offices, a performance space, public meeting rooms.

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