St. Augustine's journey to the construction of Florida's first Black History Museum

St. Augustine, Fla. – St. Augustine, a city that is rich in history, is about to consolidate its legacy with the establishment of the first black history museum in Florida. This performance takes place after a long and tedious journey, which is characterized by the dark past of the city's racism, the competition with other communities and even unexpected rounds.

Every story of the triumph contains overcoming obstacles, and this is no different.

“When we were on the highway, the bus caught fire, I literally talked about fire,” Greg White, a member of the Community Redevelopment Agency.

White and the Task Force on board the burning bus were pioneers to bring the museum to the oldest city in this nation. They traveled to the capital of Florida in April to help the St. Augustine Committee to choose the selection of the city as the home of the Florida Museum of Black History.

RELATED: St. Johns County selected as a recommended place for the Black History Museum in Florida

St. Augustine is not just a city with a past; It is a city with a story. It was the place of the first enslaved Africans who were brought to the United States by the Spaniards and home of Fort Moses, the first free black settlement in the United States. The city also played an important role in the civil rights movement, with Martin Luther King Jr. marching and fighting for equality.

White, a person interested in history who lived through the segregation, emphasized how important it is to remember the past: “The struggle that we do not forget our story, good, bad, indifference, the ugly. We have to hug it and learn from it and then go forward. “

The new museum is located next to the historic Canright House, a symbol of the city's turbulent past. The house, which once aimed with shots and Firebombs, when it believed that King would stay there, sits on the campus of the Old Florida Memorial University (FMU), a place permeated with history. The FMU rents 14.5 hectares to bring the black story to life and offer jobs through the museum.

The journey to secure the museum was not easy. St. Johns County was selected as a location for the museum after an meticulous selection and evaluation. The Florida Museum of Black History Task Force voted 5: 4 in favor of St. Johns County and confirmed its top rank for the third time.

Sarah Arnold, chair of St. John County Board of County Commissioners, expressed her enthusiasm.

“We prevailed. It was a hard fight through very eventful processes. Now we are happy to go forward and continue to build stakeholders. “

The Senator Tom Leek, the Senator of Florida, informed his perspective on the importance of the museum:

“It is an enormous opportunity for St. John's County, really all of the northeast florida,” said Leek. “The legislator put together a process a year ago that said: Let us put together this task force. You will weigh all spots that are available in the state, decide what is best and where the best place to express it, and all the places you have selected had services. But they chose three times to choose St. John's County. And I just think that it is a blessing for St. John's County and the entire Augustinian area. “

Senator Leek emphasized the importance of the museum location.

“When you think of St. Augustine and who your traveler is, who is your tourist who comes to St. Augustine, there are people who are inherent in the history of history and come there to find out there [it]. So if you put a museum in an area in which people are already traveling to experience history, it has the best opportunity to be viable. “

White noticed via the trip: “We put a long way. It's a trip. It starts. There are continuous steps and are never an end step. We are part of the trip. ”

His feeling conquered the continuing efforts to honor and preserve the black history in St. Augustine.