Florida wants to build a Black history museum. Opa-locka wants it to be there

Opa-locka is changing.

For the last few years, the city has hosted the Art of Transformation exhibit during Miami Art Week to attract the early December arts tourists. Then there’s City Terrace, a mixed-use neo-Moorish development that will feature approximately 1,000 units of mixed-income housing, up to 70,000 square feet of commercial/retail space and community green spaces. As Miami’s redevelopment races forward and its status as an arts hub snowballs, Opa-locka appears to be ready to get in on the action. And its latest effort is trying to get the Florida Museum of Black History to make its home there.

Opa-locka based community development organization Ten North Group hosted a town hall on Thursday at the historic St. Mary First Missionary Baptist Church in Coral Gables to showcase just why the northern Miami-Dade city deserves the museum. Known for its collection of Moorish architecture, Opa-locka has a large population of people of African descent and the local government has reflected that, which is why it was called a center of “Black political empowerment” in the 1980s by the Miami Herald. The city is among three finalists alongside St. Augustine and Eatonville as potential locations for the museum. It would be located at 200 Opa-locka Boulevard.

The idea of a Black history museum in Florida has existed for quite some time, and in May 2023 a law was passed that established a nine-person task force that would provide recommendations to the Florida legislature for the planning, construction, operation, and administration of a Florida Museum of Black History. More than a dozen cities offered proposals for the museum but by April 2024, the task force had selected three finalists.

Estimated cost for construction is between $50-100 million, said Ten North Group President Willie Logan, adding that the museum would be an anchor in a community that plans to use “culture to rejuvenate itself.”

“We know what culture can do for a community,” Logan said.

Mayor Daniella Levine Cava was just one of the many elected officials who not only pledged their support for the museum but also attended Thursday’s gathering. Also in attendance: Miami-Dade County School Board member Steve Gallon III, state Sen. Shevrin Jones, state Rep. Ashley Gantt and Opa-locka Mayor John Taylor. Congresswoman Frederica Wilson, who recorded a short video of support, and County Commission Chair Oliver Gilbert both sent representatives in their place.

“We are here to make sure we can preserve Black history in Florida and what better place to do that than in Opa-locka,” Levine Cava told the audience packed into Coral Gables’ first Black American church.

“The fact that all of us are here in this space – different backgrounds, probably different political parties, different communities – you’re making history right now just for us advocating for this today,” Jones said.

Institutions including the University of Miami, HistoryMiami and the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau in addition to the Miami-Dade County Commission and Public School System School Board have also all thrown their support for the museum. A diverse support base will be paramount to the museum’s success, according to Gallon.

“This endeavor isn’t simply about Black people,” Gallon said. “It is not an endeavor that can only be assumed by Black people.”

Logan ultimately believes that the museum could be a huge boost not just to Opa-locka, a city in which he used to be mayor, but the county’s economy as a whole.

“When you used to think about cities that provide a cultural experience, you think about New York, you think about Los Angeles,” Logan said. “You didn’t think about Miami. If you wanted to party, enjoy the sunshine, the beach then you thought about Miami. Now, we’re becoming a cultural hub – we just need to have a few more museums.”

The final decision will be made during the 2025 legislative session. For now, the next step will be a marketing campaign to raise awareness. Logan encouraged the audience to write to their legislators to drum up further support. He also planned to commission a feasibility study to further advocate for Opa-locka.

Added Logan: “The timeline starts now.”