Commissioner Arnold is a Guest on WSOS with the Chamber of Commerce

• 5 March 2025
• Category: SJC News District 2
• Tags: 2025

In February 2025, Sarah Arnold, District 2 was invited by the St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce to be a guest on their WSOS radio show to discuss the efforts of St. Johns County for the Black History Museum.

Listen to the interview and learn more about the program at www.sjcchamber.com/radio.

Here is a timeline of events on the project that was shared during the radio program:

• Dec. 2023, Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd announced the release of a public survey to gather input for the legislatively created Florida Museum of Black History Task Force which was created by legislation signed into law by Governor Ron DeSantis on May 11, 2023.
  
  
• Jan. 2024 St. Johns County has put out a call to action to its residents to help encourage the State to locate the proposed Florida Black History Museum in St. Augustine.
  
  
• St. Johns County placed the Florida Museum of Black History as a priority in its 2024 Legislative Action Plan, the proposed site has always been the former Florida Memorial University located in St. Augustine.
  • Florida Memorial University, one of the oldest academic centers in the state, began its third incarnation in St. Augustine in 1918. The advent of the Civil Rights Movement brought about a whirlwind of challenges and changes to St. Augustine. Students joined the movement, and their events significantly influenced federal legislation resulting in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
    
    
• St. Johns County was notified on April 15 by the Florida Department of State’s Division of Historical Resources that its proposal to be the home of the first Florida Museum of Black History scored within the top four prospective locations. St. Johns County was the number one ranked location by the Florida Museum of Black History Task Force.
  • The County’s project partners include Florida Memorial Museum, West Augustine Community Redevelopment Area, Accord Civil Rights Museum, Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center, St. Johns Visitors and Convention Bureau, St. Johns Cultural Council, and the City of St. Augustine as well as the City of St. Augustine Beach.
  • At this time we shared a 2019 Feasibility Study that provided a recommendation for a financially self-sustaining performing arts facility that included a 500-seat main theater with a 200-seat black box theater along with supporting facilities and amenities. This would be a part of the County’s plan to build the museum on the campus style location.
    
    
• In May, The Florida Museum of Black History Task Force selected St. Johns County as the location for the State’s Black History Museum.
  • During the ninth meeting of the Task Force on May 21, the members voted 5-4 in favor of recommending St. Johns County, affirming the location’s top rank for the third time.
  • This recommendation was in a comprehensive report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Minority Leader of the Senate, and the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives as directed by House Bill 1441.
    
    
• In June, St. Johns County commemorated the Juneteenth holiday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Collier-Blocker-Puryear Park (10 N. Holmes Blvd., St. Augustine) for the relocated Canright House: A Civil Rights Landmark.
  • The Canright House—a home where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was scheduled to stay in the 60s before it was vandalized by segregationists—was moved from Butler Beach to West Augustine, a decision made during the Board’s regular Feb. 20 meeting.
    
    
• St. Johns County was selected as the location of the Florida Museum of Black History, as recommended by the Florida Museum of Black History Task Force after its meeting on June 28, where the Task Force voted 6-1 to formally transmit this recommendation to the Governor and the Legislature.
  
  
• The Foundation for the FL Museum of Black History, Inc. has been formed. The representatives are:
  • Commissioner Sarah Arnold, District 2
  • Howard Holley, CEO of TouchPoint Innovative Solutions, Inc.
  • Darnell Smith, Florida Blue North Region Market President
    
    
• On Feb. 3, 2025 Florida Senator Thomas J. “Tom” Leek, District 7, filed legislation creating a governance framework for the Florida Museum of Black History.
  • It provides legislative intent to recognize the work of the Florida Museum of Black History Taskforce and the Taskforce’s selection of St. Johns County as the location of the museum.
  • The bill provides for the creation of the Florida Museum of Black History Board of Directors, including a selection process for board members.
  • The bill directs the board to oversee the commission, construction, operation, and administration of the museum.
  • The bill also requires the board to work jointly with the Foundation for the Museum of Black History, Inc. and the St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners, which will provide administrative support and staffing to the board for preconstruction activities. If passed, the bill will take effect July 1, 2025.
    
    
• The County and the Foundation are seeking $2M funding in the 2025 legislative session for planning, design and engineering of the project. The sponsors of the bill are:
  • House Representative Kiyan Michael
  • Senator Tom Leek