Sarasota is on list of potential cities for the future Florida Museum of Black History

The City of Sarasota is among finalists for a future Florida Museum of Black History. This planned state facility will preserve, highlight and educate Floridians and tourists about African American history in the Sunshine State.

The Florida Museum of Black History was first proposed by the state's Division of Historical Resources of the Department of the State in early 2023. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation in May 2023 creating a task force that has overseen the planning and recommendation of sites for the state's first Black history museum over the past few months.

Around a dozen cities and municipalities initially submitted proposals for site consideration. The nine-member task force has since narrowed the applicants to six whose proposals are currently under review — Sarasota, Jackson County, Opa-Locka, Seminole County, St. John’s County, and the city of Eatonville, the oldest Black-incorporated municipality in Florida.

Vickie Oldham, Newtown historian, and president and CEO of the Sarasota African American Cultural Coalition (SAACC), along with Shantel Norman of Visit Sarasota County, made the initial pitch to the museum's nine-member task force in December.

Oldham, who was tasked by the City of Sarasota in 2016 with preserving and highlighting the city's African American history through her Newtown Alive project, is no stranger to uncovering hidden history and building spaces for Black contributions from the ground up.

"My objective in submitting the proposal was to ensure that Sarasota's Black history stories are on the radar of state lawmakers and the appointed task force," Oldham said.

"These stories had an impact on the state, nation, and the world. The resources and materials that our team of researchers, residents, and volunteers completed with the oversight of a community task force are remarkable. Whether the facility is built here or not, no one can deny stories about the Angola Settlement, beach desegregation, and our Buck O'Neil, a Major League Baseball Hall of Fame inductee. He grew up in Overtown/Newtown and stayed at the Colson Hotel with baseball players."

The nine-member task force comprises individuals appointed by the governor, the Speaker of the House, and the Senate President — Rep. Berny Jacques, vice chair; Brian M. Butler; Altony Lee; Senator Geraldine Thompson, chair; Senator Bobby Powell; Terri Lipsey Scott; Rep. Kiyan Michael; Howard M. Holley, Sr.; and Gayle Phillips.

Task force members will oversee and develop plans for the future museum's location, design, construction, operation, administration and marketing. The task force will also create a transition plan for the museum to become fiscally self-sufficient and assist with collection acquisition, exhibits, research and educational materials for use in Florida schools.

Each applicant had to meet seven criteria for the site location in order to be considered for the museum facility. Proposals were ranked and given a point system based on:

• Historical significance of proposed community or region

• Appropriateness of proposed location

• Regional economy

• Regional demographics

• Transportation infrastructure

• Local funding and other support

• Educational resources

A final report is expected to be submitted before July 1, detailing plans and recommendations to the governor and the Department of State officials. The task force will be disbanded following the recommendation of the Florida Black History Museum site review this summer.

The proposed museum is required by law to teach the history of slavery, segregation and historically black colleges and universities or HBCUs, among other topics.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota pitched as the future home of Florida Museum of Black History