BUILD FREEDOM’S LEGACY A Campaign for the National Juneteenth Museum A National Museum. A Cultural Hub. An Economic Catalyst.
MORE THAN A MOMENT IN HISTORY National Juneteenth Museum
Build Freedom’s Legacy: A Campaign for the National Juneteenth Museum
Juneteenth marks one of the most important turning points in American history — the moment freedom finally reached the last remaining enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865. Juneteenth is the story of resilience, community, and what it means to continue pursuing freedom long after it was promised. The National Juneteenth Museum will become the nation’s leading institution dedicated to preserving, interpreting, and advancing the Juneteenth story not only as history, but as an enduring legacy that continues to shape America today.
Campaign goal
$70 MILLION
Raised to date
Located in Fort Worth’s Historic Southside neighborhood, the Museum will be a dynamic cultural destination where immersive exhibitions, educational experiences, entrepreneurship initiatives, and community investment will reflect the spirit and legacy of Juneteenth.
$55 MILLION
“Juneteenth is not just a Texas thing, not just a Black thing, it’s about freedom for all.”
Remaining
— Ms. Opal Lee, Grandmother of Juneteenth
National Juneteenth Museum
$15 MILLION
Build Freedom’s Legacy: A Campaign for the National Juneteenth Museum
FROM GALVESTON TO A NATIONAL MOVEMENT National Juneteenth Museum
Build Freedom’s Legacy: A Campaign for the National Juneteenth Museum
The commemoration of America’s 250th anniversary invited the nation to reflect not only on how far we have come, but on the stories that continue to shape our understanding of freedom, citizenship, and democracy. Few stories are more essential to that conversation than Juneteenth.
National Juneteenth Museum
In 2021, Juneteenth became a federal holiday following decades of advocacy by activists, educators, and community leaders who worked tirelessly to secure national recognition for this pivotal moment in American history. Among those whose leadership helped advance the movement were Lula Briggs Galloway, Dr. Ronald Myers, Representative Al Edwards, and Ms. Opal, the “Grandmother of Juneteenth.” Each played a vital role in elevating Juneteenth, from legislative leadership and national organizing to grassroots education and public awareness. At 89 years old, Ms. Opal’s walk from Fort Worth to Washington, D.C. captured the nation’s attention, galvanizing millions and helping transform what was once a regional observance into a nationally recognized day of reflection, celebration, and renewed understanding of American history. Now, the nation has an opportunity to create a permanent home for that story while the movement that shaped it remains within living memory. Juneteenth began in Texas, but its meaning belongs to every American. At a time when communities across the country are searching for places that foster truth, dialogue, belonging, and opportunity, the National Juneteenth Museum offers something uniquely powerful: a national institution rooted in history and designed to shape the future.
Build Freedom’s Legacy: A Campaign for the National Juneteenth Museum
Juneteenth Timeline 1863
On January 1, 1863 President Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation declaring all enslaved Americans free.
1865 — Civil Rights Era
Following emancipation in 1865, Juneteenth became an annual celebration of freedom as African Americans secured citizenship and voting rights. During the Civil Rights Era, public celebrations declined as the broader movement for equality took center stage.
1968
Held on Juneteenth, the Solidarity Day Rally helped bring renewed national attention to Juneteenth through the Poor People’s Campaign.
Civil Rights Era — 1997
The Civil Rights Movement renewed Juneteenth’s national visibility, culminating in Representative Al Edwards securing Texas’s first state holiday (1980) and Dr. Ronald V. Myers, Sr. and Lula Briggs Galloway leading the effort for congressional recognition in 1997.
2021
On June 17, 2021, President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, honoring decades of advocacy by Ms. Opal, Lula Briggs Galloway, Dr. Ronald Myers, Representative Al Edwards, and countless others.
FUTURE
With Juneteenth as a national holiday; knowledge, awareness, and celebration of African American history and culture can be better recognized and shared. National Juneteenth Museum
Build Freedom’s Legacy: A Campaign for the National Juneteenth Museum
SHAPING A NATIONAL STORY IN FORT WORTH, TX. National Juneteenth Museum
Build Freedom’s Legacy: A Campaign for the National Juneteenth Museum
The National Juneteenth Museum will be located in Fort Worth’s Historic Southside, a historically Black neighborhood with deep cultural significance and longstanding community pride. For generations, this neighborhood has been a center of Black entrepreneurship, culture, faith, and civic life. It is also the home of Ms. Opal, whose leadership helped transform Juneteenth into a national holiday and whose life’s work continues to inspire millions. While Juneteenth began in Galveston, its modern movement found one of its strongest champions in Fort Worth. Locating the National Juneteenth Museum here honors both the historical origins of the holiday and the community that helped elevate its significance for the entire nation. Aerial View | Rendering Courtesy of Bjarke Ingels Group & KAI Enterprises
National Juneteenth Museum
Build Freedom’s Legacy: A Campaign for the National Juneteenth Museum
ADDING TO FORT WORTH’S REPUTATION AS A HUB FOR WORLD-CLASS MUSEUMS Fort Worth is an ideal home for a national museum dedicated to the story of Juneteenth. Located in one of the nation’s fastest-growing metropolitan regions, the city offers exceptional accessibility, a vibrant cultural landscape, and the capacity to support a destination of national significance. The Dallas– Fort Worth region is the nation’s fourth-largest media market and is served by one of the world’s busiest airports, making the Museum easily accessible to visitors from across the country and around the globe. Just as important, Fort Worth provides the opportunity to build a world-class institution with a long-term vision for sustainability. The Museum will serve not only as a destination for visitors, but as a year-round center for education, scholarship, cultural programming, and community engagement—ensuring its impact continues to grow for generations to come. Juneteenth is an American story that speaks to freedom, resilience, community, and the ongoing pursuit of a fuller understanding of the nation’s history. As the country continues to grapple with questions of identity and historical memory, the Museum will serve as a place for education, dialogue, reflection, and connection for visitors from across the nation and around the world.
Rendering Courtesy of Local Projects, LLC
“Freedom is the bedrock of America, and Juneteenth is the quintessential representation of freedom” — Jarred Howard CEO, National Juneteenth Museum
Sources: Nielsen, 2025 DMA Rankings; Airports Council International (ACI) World, 2025 World Airport Traffic Data.
National Juneteenth Museum
Build Freedom’s Legacy: A Campaign for the National Juneteenth Museum
THE MOMENTUM BEHIND THE MUSEUM National Juneteenth Museum
Build Freedom’s Legacy: A Campaign for the National Juneteenth Museum
Early partners have helped position the National Juneteenth Museum as an emerging national institution with growing visibility, credibility, and momentum across philanthropic, cultural, civic, and community sectors.
LEAD SUPPORTERS Amon G Carter Foundation
Rainwater Charitable Foundation
Ann L. and Carol Green Rhodes Charitable Trust
Texas Christian University
Atmos Energy
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints / FamilySearch
Baker Chapel AME
The Ryan Foundation
Bank of America
TPG
BNSF Railway
UMB Bank
Charles Schwab Bank
Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church
Frito Lay
W.K. Kellogg Foundation
Leo Potishman Foundation
State of Texas
Lilly Endowment
Tarrant County
Meta
City of Fort Worth
North Texas Community Foundation
North Central Texas Council of Governments
Paycom National Juneteenth Museum
Build Freedom’s Legacy: A Campaign for the National Juneteenth Museum
Early programming and public engagement efforts have helped expand national awareness of both the Museum and the continuing significance of Juneteenth through community celebrations, educational initiatives, cultural events, partnerships, and media engagement designed to build momentum ahead of the Museum’s opening. These efforts have already grown the Museum’s national reach and deepened its roots in the community.
“What is most important is that Juneteenth is celebrated.” — Jarred Howard
National Juneteenth Museum
Build Freedom’s Legacy: A Campaign for the National Juneteenth Museum
WHAT YOUR SUPPORT MAKES POSSIBLE National Juneteenth Museum
Build Freedom’s Legacy: A Campaign for the National Juneteenth Museum
Every great movement deserves a place where its story can be preserved, shared, and experienced by future generations. The National Juneteenth Museum is that place. The campaign to build the National Juneteenth Museum is transforming a bold vision into a national destination, one that honors the journey from emancipation to today while inspiring dialogue, learning, and action for generations to come. Every philanthropic investment brings that vision closer to reality by supporting the construction of the Museum campus, immersive exhibitions, and experiences that will educate, engage, and inspire visitors from around the world. To date, generous supporters have invested $55 million, advancing planning, site development, exhibition design, and the partnerships needed to bring the Museum to life. The final $15 million will complete the Museum and create a place where the history and legacy of Juneteenth are honored every day—not just on June 19.
National Juneteenth Museum
Rendering Courtesy of Local Projects, LLC
This is more than the completion of a Museum. It is the creation of a lasting national legacy that honors the past while inspiring future generations to carry the promise of freedom forward.
Build Freedom’s Legacy: A Campaign for the National Juneteenth Museum
Bringing the Vision to Life — $70,000,000
Education, Culture, and Community
Campaign investments are creating a permanent home for Juneteenth through the construction of the Museum campus, immersive exhibitions, educational and gathering spaces, and a dynamic visitor experience that will establish the National Juneteenth Museum as a premier national cultural destination.
The National Juneteenth Museum is more than a destination, it is a catalyst for education, cultural preservation, and civic engagement. Philanthropic investment supports innovative educational initiatives, stewardship of collections, entrepreneurship programs, cultural experiences, and strategic partnerships that extend the Museum’s reach far beyond its walls.
With $55 million already invested in this vision, the Museum is now focused on securing the remaining $15 million needed to complete construction, install exhibitions, and prepare to welcome visitors from across the nation and around the world.
These investments ensure the Museum not only opens its doors but also continues to spark learning, foster dialogue, celebrate culture, and strengthen communities for years to come.
Funding Goal
$55M
National Juneteenth Museum
$70M
Build Freedom’s Legacy: A Campaign for the National Juneteenth Museum
THE NATIONAL JUNETEENTH MUSEUM EXPERIENCE National Juneteenth Museum
Build Freedom’s Legacy: A Campaign for the National Juneteenth Museum
The National Juneteenth Museum will invite guests into an immersive exploration of freedom, resilience, community, and legacy. Blending historical interpretation with contemporary voices, art, technology, and personal connection, the Museum experience is designed not only to inform, but to inspire reflection, dialogue, and deeper understanding. Centering the museum’s architectural design around the nova star on the Juneteenth flag, the Museum journey unfolds through interconnected experiences focused on Freedom, Community, Celebration, and Legacy. Interactive media, artifacts, oral histories, artwork, genealogy exploration, and reflection spaces will invite guests to engage with history in deeply personal ways and connect their own stories to the continuing narrative of Juneteenth. “Little Dipper” experiences integrated throughout the galleries will encourage younger visitors to explore through curiosity, creativity, and hands-on discovery.
East Entry | Rendering Courtesy of Bjarke Ingels Group & KAI Enterprises
Designed for multigenerational engagement, the Museum experience encourages reflection on both the past and the ongoing meaning of freedom today. National Juneteenth Museum
Build Freedom’s Legacy: A Campaign for the National Juneteenth Museum
A JOURNEY THROUGH THE SPIRIT OF JUNETEENTH National Juneteenth Museum
Build Freedom’s Legacy: A Campaign for the National Juneteenth Museum
INTRODUCTION GALLERY Visitors begin with an orientation to Juneteenth through immersive media, artwork, timelines, and profiles of leaders who shaped the modern Juneteenth movement.
Rendering Courtesy of Local Projects, LLC
National Juneteenth Museum
The opening experience establishes Juneteenth as both a historical event and an ongoing movement that continues to shape American life and identity.
Build Freedom’s Legacy: A Campaign for the National Juneteenth Museum
FREEDOM GALLERY This gallery traces historic and contemporary pathways to freedom through artifacts, personal narratives, and immersive experiences that connect emancipation history to the continuing pursuit of justice.
Rendering Courtesy of Local Projects, LLC
National Juneteenth Museum
By exploring Emancipation Day traditions from communities across the nation, visitors discover how these distinct commemorations are united by a shared story of freedom that continues to shape America.
Build Freedom’s Legacy: A Campaign for the National Juneteenth Museum
COMMUNITY GALLERY From there, the experience moves into the Community gallery, highlighting the spaces, relationships, and traditions that have sustained African American life across generations.
Rendering Courtesy of Local Projects, LLC
National Juneteenth Museum
Through stories of gathering, faith, family, celebration, and collective action, the gallery explores how community has long served as a source of resilience, cultural continuity, activism, and collective strength.
Build Freedom’s Legacy: A Campaign for the National Juneteenth Museum
PRESERVING MEMORY, INSPIRING REFLECTION Dedicated reflection spaces anchored by large-scale contemporary art installations will create moments for contemplation, dialogue, and emotional connection throughout the Museum experience.
Rendering Courtesy of Local Projects, LLC
National Juneteenth Museum
Featuring commissioned works and select furnishings by contemporary Black artists, these spaces will connect historical themes with present-day artistic expression, inviting guests to pause, process, and engage more deeply with the stories explored throughout the galleries.
Build Freedom’s Legacy: A Campaign for the National Juneteenth Museum
As a collecting museum, the National Juneteenth Museum will preserve artifacts, archives, oral histories, and cultural materials connected to Juneteenth and the broader African American experience. Through a partnership with the University of North Texas Libraries, the Museum’s collections and archives will be housed and preserved at UNT’s Special Collections warehouse facility, strengthening long-term preservation and research access. In 2024, the Museum also became a partner of the Portal to Texas History, joining a statewide network providing public access to millions of historical records and archival materials. Floyd Newsum, Jr. “Maafa”, 2002 Acrylic and mixed media on paper 43” x 79”
National Juneteenth Museum
Build Freedom’s Legacy: A Campaign for the National Juneteenth Museum
FINDING YOURSELF IN THE STORY National Juneteenth Museum
Build Freedom’s Legacy: A Campaign for the National Juneteenth Museum
Even before opening its doors, the Museum is advancing work across exhibitions, collections stewardship, education, genealogy, entrepreneurship, and community engagement, showing the breadth of the institution being built and the long-term impact it is designed to create.
Rendering Courtesy of Local Projects, LLC
National Juneteenth Museum
Build Freedom’s Legacy: A Campaign for the National Juneteenth Museum
GENEALOGY EXPERIENCE Interactive genealogy experiences will invite guests to explore personal and collective histories, reinforcing Juneteenth’s enduring relevance across generations, families, and communities. Through digital tools, archival materials, oral histories, and personalized experiences, individuals will connect their own family histories to broader narratives of freedom, migration, resilience, and cultural continuity. These experiences turn history from something observed into something lived, inherited, and carried forward across generations.
National Juneteenth Museum
Rendering Courtesy of Local Projects, LLC
Build Freedom’s Legacy: A Campaign for the National Juneteenth Museum
CULTURE. COMMUNITY. COMMERCE. National Juneteenth Museum
Build Freedom’s Legacy: A Campaign for the National Juneteenth Museum
The National Juneteenth Museum is designed not only as a cultural institution, but as a catalyst for community investment and economic opportunity. The Museum will include spaces designed to support gathering, entrepreneurship, tourism, local business engagement, and community-centered economic activity.
This vision reflects a central belief:
Freedom should create opportunity. The Museum intentionally links cultural preservation with economic investment, recognizing that thriving communities require both.
Community Hall | Rendering Courtesy of Bjarke Ingels Group & KAI Enterprises
National Juneteenth Museum
Build Freedom’s Legacy: A Campaign for the National Juneteenth Museum
ENTREPRENEURSHIP + ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY National Juneteenth Museum
Build Freedom’s Legacy: A Campaign for the National Juneteenth Museum
The National Juneteenth Museum is projected to become a significant driver of economic activity and community revitalization in Fort Worth and across Texas. Annual Museum operations and visitor spending are expected to generate approximately $24 million in statewide economic impact each year, supporting roughly 204 jobs across hospitality, entertainment, retail, food service, and related industries.
$11.7M
Direct Visitor Spending
$24.0M
Total Economic Impact
204
Total Jobs Generated
Source: Tourism Economics, an Oxford Economics company, Economic and Fiscal Impacts of the Proposed Juneteenth National Museum in Fort Worth, TX, July 2023.
National Juneteenth Museum
Food Hall | Rendering Courtesy of Bjarke Ingels Group & KAI Enterprises
Build Freedom’s Legacy: A Campaign for the National Juneteenth Museum
As a destination attracting visitors from across the country, the Museum will preserve and elevate Juneteenth history while helping stimulate local business growth, tourism, and long-term investment in a historically underinvested neighborhood. The Museum will include a business incubator and co-working space supporting emerging minority-owned businesses and entrepreneurs, as well as a food hall featuring local chefs, vendors, and restaurateurs celebrating culturally diverse cuisine and community-rooted traditions. Business Incubator | Rendering Courtesy of Bjarke Ingels Group & KAI Enterprises
Together, these initiatives position the Museum as a model for how cultural institutions can support long-term community investment and revitalization while preserving local character and identity.
Food Hall | Rendering Courtesy of Bjarke Ingels Group & KAI Enterprises
National Juneteenth Museum
Build Freedom’s Legacy: A Campaign for the National Juneteenth Museum
Northwest Corner | Rendering Courtesy of Bjarke Ingels Group & KAI Enterprises
Auditorium| Rendering Courtesy of Bjarke Ingels Group & KAI Enterprises
Interior Porches| Rendering Courtesy of Bjarke Ingels Group & KAI Enterprises
BUILD FREEDOM’S LEGACY The story of Juneteenth changed America. Now, together, we have the opportunity to create its permanent home. The National Juneteenth Museum will preserve the history of Juneteenth, celebrate the resilience of those who carried its legacy forward, and inspire future generations to better understand America’s ongoing journey toward freedom. With $55 million already invested and $15 million remaining, this is a defining moment in the Museum’s history. The leadership investments made today will help transform decades of vision, advocacy, and community leadership into a national institution that will educate, inspire, and serve millions.
Contact Jarred Howard CEO National Juneteenth Museum 817.774.0619 howardj@thenjm.org nationaljuneteenthmuseum.org
The story of Juneteenth belongs to every American. Help build the national institution that will preserve it, celebrate it, and carry it forward for generations to come.
The vision is within reach. Your leadership investment can help us complete it. National Juneteenth Museum
Build Freedom’s Legacy: A Campaign for the National Juneteenth Museum