A state task force voted 5-4 Tuesday to select St. Augustine as the recommended site for the Florida Black History Museum, rejecting Eatonville’s bid and downplaying Central Florida’s character as a tourist center. .
The vote came as an unexpected surprise at the task force’s penultimate meeting after St. Augustine advocates urged the commission to adopt previous rankings of competing sites as its final recommendations. It was held in The City of St. Augustine stood slightly ahead of Eatonville in its rankings, but its lead was almost entirely extended to Jacksonville-area legislators on the panel, who gave the neighboring city a perfect score and gave Eatonville its lead. was due to giving bad marks.
Ultimately, St. Augustine was chosen by all three members of a special committee appointed by House Speaker Paul Renner, a Republican from the North Florida district that includes St. Augustine’s St. Johns County. . The other two task force members supporting St. Augustine were appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis from Jacksonville.
Unless the task force revisits the issue at its final meeting in June, its recommendations will go to Florida’s four legislative leaders (two from each party) and DeSantis. It’s unclear what will happen then, but the political support in St. Augustine appears strong.
St. Augustine’s main marketing base for the museum is its many important historical sites, including the presence of an early free black settlement at Fort Moses (pronounced “Moses”) and key events in the civil rights movement of the 1960s. It was based on the museum’s leading role in the event.
Eatonville has a unique history as the nation’s first black municipality to incorporate. However, its strongest argument was that the tourism economy centered on theme parks is smaller than that of St. Augustine and is located in central Florida. Supporters in Eatonville argued that a museum there would most likely be self-sustaining and that the law authorizing the museum required it.
“Each location has its pros and cons,” says St. Augustine advocate Vicki Pepper. “Orange County may have more tourists, but Northeast Florida has more than enough, and this museum will be among the best of our many important historic sites. ”
Eatonville Mayor Angie Gardner was disappointed, but remained hopeful that the museum could remain in the historically black town.
“It may not be over yet,” she said. “It’s just a recommendation. Some may wonder what happened.”
Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, who pioneered as the first black Orlando police chief, Orange County sheriff, and Orange County mayor, also refused to nullify Eatonville’s potential. The city of Eatonville had requested $15 million in tourism tax funds from Demings’ agency as a grant. museum.
“I am disappointed in the committee’s decision,” he said. “We are proud of the application we submitted and the way our community came together in hopes of establishing the Florida Museum of Black History in Eatonville. What went wrong in St. Augustine We’re very interested in establishing a museum here in Orange County.”
State Rep. Kiyan Michael, a member of the task force and a Republican from Jacksonville Beach, gave St. Augustine/St. Johns County a perfect score of 110, but only gave Eatonville a score of 78, which was was the lowest score on any scorecard in the town. The councilor complained Tuesday about criticism of his own assessment, but he did not explain why he gave Eatonville a low score of 5 out of 20 for its “suitability of location.” . The town’s proposed site was once a black school, and St. Augustine was once a plantation that used slave labor.
Michael’s score was the focus of a story in Sunday’s Orlando Sentinel.
State Sen. Geraldine Thompson, an Orlando Democrat who chairs the task force, said the committee’s vote along party lines may not be the final decision. Building a museum in St. Augustine would require millions of dollars in state spending, as it would be built on land leased to St. Johns County by Florida Memorial University. Florida Memorial University is a historically black college that moved to South Florida in the 1960s due to racial riots in St. Augustine. .
State Sen. Geraldine Thompson outside the Wells Built Museum in downtown Orlando on Tuesday, May 14, 2024. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel)
In contrast, the City of Eatonville had contracted to lease-purchase, for a nominal fee, 10 acres of the Hungerford School site currently owned by the Orange County School District.
“There’s still a lot of uncertainty,” Thompson said.
But not all Eatonville residents were disappointed. Activist John Beecham, who has been pushing for a community-focused development on the Hungerford site, said he was concerned the “state-run” museum was not accurately representing black history. He particularly criticized Gov. Ron DeSantis’ campaign against “woke” ideology and the teachings of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
“From the governor’s perspective…why would we want a gift from the governor?” [him]? ” He said. “If Eatonville had control of the museum, if Eatonville had a large stake in the museum, it would be a different story.”
shudak@orlandosentinel.com
