ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – The future home of Florida’s first state-funded Black History museum is once again up for debate, even though a task force that met for nearly a year recommended St. Augustine as the location.
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But now, a new amendment to the bill filed by State Representative Bruce Antone could upend that plan, calling for three museums instead of one: One in St. Augustine, one in Opa-locka, and one in Eatonville — the oldest incorporated Black town in America, on the outskirts of Orlando.
However, a member of the task force assigned to picking the location says their decision has already been made after going through a “specific” and “very thoughtful” process, which he believes should be respected.
“Our voted recommendation was that the museum be located in St Augustine, St Johns County,” said Howard Holley, one of nine people appointed by state leaders to sit on the Florida Museum of Black History task force.
Holley said after 10 months of meeting, task force members reached a consensus on St Augustine, adding that the task force chose the country’s oldest city based on its historical significance.
“We had seven criteria,” Holley explained. “We spent a lot of time defining what the criteria should be how we would evaluate it, and we evaluated it against 13 applicants. We narrowed down the 13 to three, and of the three, we narrowed it down to one. So there was a specific, very thoughtful process that we followed that I believe should be respected.”
Antone argues that Orlando’s tourist power makes Eatonville a more viable hub.
“Orlando is the ideal place, Antone said. ”I mean, we have two airports, Orlando International Airport, which has the most traffic in the state of Florida. We have Sanford International Airport, so we’re talking about accessibility. But Orlando has 74 million tourists. Orlando has $358 million a year in tourist development tax, of which the mayor of Orange County had pledged $30 million last year for this museum."
He also said he believes the task force was stacked in St. Augustine’s favor, and that the committee’s work ultimately fell short of choosing the overall best location.
“The task force required a marketing plan, a design for the museum...At least five or six different things to be completed by the task force, and none of those were completed. The only thing the task force did was choose a location,” the state representative said.
Antone’s amendment allows $75 million in state funding, divided among the three museums, matched by local and private dollars. But Holley, now part of a foundation supporting the museum’s creation, disagrees with splitting the project in thirds.
“The intent was to incorporate the story in Opa Locka, to incorporate the story of Eatonville, and also to incorporate the story of the Florida African American Heritage Preservation network, which is 32 other historical locations across the state,” Holley said.
Whether the state builds one museum or three now depends on Florida’s lawmakers, who not only have to approve the changes, but also the funding.