Gabrielle Russon
Sen. Tom Leek is pushing for Florida’s Museum of Black History to be built in St. Johns County in a new bill filed Monday after lawmakers have debated where to put it.
Leek’s SB 466 states that the Legislature intended to build the museum in St. Johns County and establishes a nine-person board of directors, with three gubernatorial appointees (one of whom serves as chair), three appointees each of the Senate President and House Speaker, and two House members and two Senators picked by their chamber’s respective leaders.
The bill, which would take effect July 1, requires all board appointments to be made by July 31.
Leek also calls on the St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners to provide administrative help and staff until the museum’s project planning, design, and engineering are complete.
“As we recognize February as Black History Month, I am proud to file Senate Bill 466 as we move forward as the preferred location for the Florida Museum of Black History,” the Republican from Ormond Beach said in a statement Monday. “The museum will be built on the former site of Florida Memorial University, which has historical significance here in St. Johns County, and I look forward to working with our community and our state in furtherance of this significant designation.”
The site contains the relocated Canright House, the home where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was supposed to stay in the 1960s before segregationists vandalized the property.
Last year, Rep. Bruce Antone, a Democrat from Orlando, argued the museum should be built in Eatonville, the country’s first Black municipality. Eatonville is located just outside Orlando.
A state task force opted for St. Augustine over Central Florida.
Antone argued the process was rigged and the task force had already decided on St. Augustine.
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A.G. Gancarski contributed to this report.
3 comments
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February 3, 2025 at 1:35 pm
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