Heated moments between the Historic Roosevelt Unity Coalition and Sen. Bobby Powell soon followed after the coalition said it was against a state-run Black History Museum in West Palm Beach. Community activists had been fighting for a locally run museum for years.
WEST PALM BEACH, FL –Tense moments erupted between state leaders and the Historic Roosevelt Unity Coalition, as they debated the future of a Black history museum in West Palm Beach.
A few weeks ago, Palm Beach County leaders and West Palm Beach Mayor Keith James met with the Florida Museum of Black History Task Force to present why a state-run museum should come to West Palm Beach.
During that meeting, county leaders said that the Palm Beach County School District is backing the project with funding of $51 million.
The Historic Roosevelt Unity Coalition, however, said that it was not made aware of this presentation and had no communication with the city.
“This is Palm Beach County history, not state history. And we are standing here today to say no more,” Cora Perry, president of Industrial Roosevelt High School National Alumni & Friends, Inc., said.
The coalition also mentioned Gov. Ron DeSantis’ policies as to the reasons why they don’t want a state-backed museum in their community.
“Any Black History museum under the auspices of the Florida Legislature and Governor which have enacted the Stop WOKE Act, prohibiting and making illegal classroom instruction that would cause anyone to feel guilt, anguish, or any form of psychological distress due to their race, color, sex or national origin, is a Black Museum without Black history,” the coalition said.
Instead, members said they have been fighting for a locally run museum to be built at the site of the Roosevelt Full-Service Center.
“As you can ride along these streets and see the despair. That has existed in this community for decades,” Annie Nelson, the president of the African Research Library and Cultural Center of Palm Beach County, Inc., said. “This initiative is to give hope to the people here. We wanted to give an educational facility that will provide job opportunities.”
“We feel betrayal. Because we have been working on this effort since 2005. We were not included in the decision-making to make this a state museum. We were not even contacted to say what our input would be if we made this a state museum,” Perry said.
And that is why the coalition gathered outside of the Roosevelt Full-Service Center to demand the community put a stop to a possible state-run museum.
Sen. Bobby Powell of District 24 swung by the news conference on Monday and voiced his opinions and concerns to the coalition.
“No one has called me, no one has had an opportunity to discuss,” Powell said.
The conversation quickly became heated as members of the coalition and the senator worked to figure out why it had come to this point.
The senator said no official application has been submitted yet in the search for a location of a state-run museum in Florida.
“The fact that people are indicating that the governor is funding anything is not true,” Powell said.
“Do the right thing, bring this project to fruition. Don’t give us any more stopgap measures,” Nelson said.
WPBF 25 News reached out to Mayor Keith James’ office but have been referred to the county instead.
We also reached out to the governor’s office for a comment and have not yet heard back
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