The Palm Beach County commission has doubled down on preserving and celebrating African American history with new funding toward an $80 million Black museum development in West Palm Beach.
The county approved a $1 million grant on Dec. 8 to support the African American Museum and Research Library (AAMRL) project.
The 20,000-square-foot, two-story museum will be built on the grounds of the historic Roosevelt High School in West Palm Beach — which was once the city’s segregated Black high school and a cornerstone of Black education in the county.
Roosevelt High School, closed after desegregation in the 1970s, is now the renovated Roosevelt Full-Service Center at 1601 N. Tamarind Avenue in West Palm Beach’s Coleman Park neighborhood.
The museum, which will be part of the renovated campus, is a project alumni have long pushed for. Plans include gallery space, a research library, oral history projects and youth programs.
READ MORE: Former Roosevelt High alumni rejoice in restoration of historic all-Black school in Palm Beach
County Commissioner Bobby Powell, who sits on the AAMRL Board of Directors, said the project could spur economic opportunity and “cultural understanding across the communities we serve.”
$80 million in funding
And thanks to the help of private donors and public support, it’s getting closer to reality.
This latest grant brings the total county commission investment to $2 million dollars. The overall investment effort is led by the nonprofit Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties, the School District of Palm Beach County (SDPBC), the Quantum foundation and other community stakeholders.
The development, led by lead designer Bora Architecture & Interiors, will take place in a series of construction phases approved by SDPBC.
SDPBC is the largest funder of the $80 million Roosevelt High School restoration and African American Museum project, committing more than $50 million in public school funds..
County grants and local private donations, including major gifts from Bank of America, the nonprofit Quantum Foundation, help support the remaining costs.
Danita R. DeHaney, President & CEO of the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties and Chair of the AAMRL Board said AAMRL will "will ensure that the stories, achievements, and contributions of generations past and present are preserved, celebrated, and shared for years to come.”
The School District has already completed phase one renovations, with phase two underway to restore the research library.
