Proposed African American Museum receives city funding, expands its study of possible sites

The proposed African American Museum and Cultural Center is expanding its search for a place where it should be built. Fort Worth City Council on June 28 allocated $40,000 to the museum, but with one condition: The committee overseeing its development must include multiple sites into a feasibility study. The museum committee plans to reset the fundraising budget to accommodate the city’s request. The timeline is now uncertain as the committee seeks funding from the community. The museum committee initially was looking at the Community Arts Center, 1300 Gendy St., in the Cultural District as the only study site. City Manager David Cooke questioned the study. “It seems like they’ve already made a conclusion with that one site before the study,” Cooke told the Fort Worth Report.

John Barnett Jr. is the co-chair of the museum’s steering committee and now is the chair of the nonprofit overseeing the museum. The African American Museum and Cultural Center became a nonprofit organization in early June, Barnett said in a June 21 presentation to the City Council. The presentation included the feasibility study of the Community Arts Center. After the work session, City Council members met in executive session to discuss the committee’s proposal on studying the Community Arts Center. Behind closed doors, Cooke requested the museum’s committee to include more sites to its feasibility study, the city manager told the Report. The City Council’s latest request will require the African American Museum and Cultural Center, the recently established nonprofit, to reconsider its fundraising plan. The city wanted to make sure other sites will be considered and not to exclusively rely on one site, Cooke said.