National Juneteenth Museum will be built in Fort Worth

FORT WORTH, Texas — A museum dedicated to telling the history of Juneteenth with a national scope is set to be built in Fort Worth, Texas.

The National Juneteenth Museum is also expected to host seminars and lectures, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports. Sable Brands, a Fort Worth-based marketing firm, said Tuesday that the museum will be part of a mixed-use development.

When President Joe Biden signed a bill into law over the summer making June 19 a federal holiday to commemorate the end of slavery in the U.S., those by his side included Opal Lee, a Fort Worth woman who spent years rallying people to join her push to see the day get that recognition.

According to the Star-Telegram story, the museum will be built in the spring of 2022, on land that has housed Lee’s existing Fort Worth Juneteenth Museum for about 20 years.

Juneteenth, observed on June 19, commemorates the abolition of slavery in the United States following the Civil War.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker also signed a bill in June making Juneteenth an official statewide holiday this year, following Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s earlier move declaring the city of Chicago would recognize June 19 as the official holiday starting next year.