Here’s why the National Juneteenth Museum belongs in Historic Southside, planners say

Sidewalk plaques that commemorate significant African Americans in Fort Worth’s history are covered with a rainbow of leaves along Evans Avenue in Fort Worth’s Historic Southside.

Jarred Howard walks along the sidewalk, pointing out the names of distinguished people such as William “Gooseneck” MacDonald, Texas’ first Black millionaire, and Vada P. Felder, the first Black graduate of Brite Divinity School at Texas Christian University.

Howard is the CEO of the National Juneteenth Museum, which is to be built in Historic Southside. As he speaks about the people recognized on the plaques, he also talks about significant buildings and monuments in the area.

He points out Mount Zion Baptist Church, which has stood in the community for over 100 years; the office of the NAACP chapter of Fort Worth and Tarrant County; and the Ella Mae Shamblee Library, named after the first Black librarian in Fort Worth. Farther up the street is the headquarters of the Fort Worth Association of Federated Women’s Clubs, founded in 1917 to recognize women of color in their community service.

As he considers this history, he also considers the question some have asked about why Historic Southside was chosen for the Juneteenth Museum, and he asks, “Why not?”

“When you look at the annals of Fort Worth history, and where Black people fit in the context of that history, and I’m talking geographically, it was right here in the Historic Southside,” Howard said. “The Historic Southside was birthed immediately post emancipation, and when Black people started to acquire wealth, this is where they did it.”

Opal Lee, considered the “Grandmother of Juneteenth,” symbolically walked 1,400 miles from Fort Worth to Washingotn, D.C., in 2016 to bring attention to the importance of the Juneteenth holiday. In 2021, Lee, who lives in Fort Worth, was in attendance when President Joe Biden signed legislation to make Juneteenth a national holiday.

The National Juneteenth Museum is halfway to its fundraising goal for construction, operating costs, and programming with $34 million raised and recently gained a donation from BNSF Railway, the amount of which was not disclosed, that will give the company naming rights to a gallery area in the museum.

The history of Southside

Just one mile southeast of downtown Fort Worth, the Historic Southside is one of the oldest African American neighborhoods in the city. Black people began migrating to the area in the 1910s. It was largely due to William “Gooseneck” MacDonald, who began buying plots of land and selling them to Black families. This brought in Black professionals, including doctors, educators and religious leaders.

The Historic Southside was home to Black-owned businesses, barbershops, nightclubs, grocery stores and restaurants. Today, not many remain in the neighborhood.

The neighborhood is bordered by Interstate 35W to the west, Vickery Boulevard to the north, Riverside Drive to the east, and Rosedale Street to the south.

The median household income is $45,965, compared to $76,210 for all of Tarrant County, according to the Census Bureau. The neighborhood is in the 76104 ZIP code, which according to a 2019 UT Southwestern study, had the lowest life expectancy in Texas.

Plans for a residential and commercial development project at Evans and Rosedale have been delayed, as the city parted ways with the developers. The project was to include a 292-unit apartment complex, with some units to be set aside for renters earning at or below 60 and 80 percent of the area’s median income, and 15,000-square-feet of commercial space.

A fight for investment

Johnny Lewis, 76, moved to Fort Worth from Georgia in the late ‘60s and has been a community leader and volunteer in the Historic Southside.

Lewis says the community has always had to fight for city resources and investment. It was not until a Star-Telegram project on the low life expectancy in the area that attention was focused on the neighborhood, he says.

Lewis says the Juneteenth Museum will complement the Lenora Butler Rolla Museum, which honors the civil rights leader and community activist who formed the Tarrant County Black Historical and Genealogical Society, and will bring businesses to the area.

When he looks at the plaques along Evans Avenue, he sees people who accomplished dreams during their lifetimes. He hopes more people will be added to show children what Black people have accomplished in the past and what they accomplish in the future.

“That museum could bring the history, and that’s the thing we’re missing, because our children are missing the history,” Lewis said. “Because we don’t get a chance to talk about it. And that’s one of the things I’m hoping that we’ll be able to have, some workshops, so that we can bring, not just adults, but also children and have some healthy discussions.”

A place for conversation, healing

Laura Cross is curator for the National Juneteenth Museum. She is also an assistant professor at the University of North Texas, where her work focuses on bringing the experiences of Black people in history to the forefront through exhibits.

She says Juneteenth represents a galvanizing point in history to celebrate the freedom of African Americans and foster continued work for social justice.

Historic Southside is the perfect place for the museum, Cross says, because residents will be comfortable going to the museum, and it can serve as a place to engage the wider community as a place for conversation, providing healing.

In the museum, Cross plans to show how certain topics — from the Underground Railroad or Reconstruction — are interconnected. She wants to make sure people learn about the time period leading up to Juneteenth, as well as what happened post emancipation since new information and archives are constantly being uncovered.

The National Juneteenth Museum has issued a national call for artifacts to help tell the stories of Black people’s ancestors who lived through slavery, the Civil War, the civil rights movement and more. Artifacts could include paintings, documents, garments, letters, heirlooms, or anything that helps people understand a time period, Cross says.

Howard, the museum’s CEO, has strong roots in Fort Worth, as his great-grandmother, Amanda Davis, is credited as the founder of the Stop Six neighborhood when she bought an acre of land in the area in 1896.

That history was the catalyst for his love of Fort Worth, he says. He attended the University of North Texas, worked various jobs in Fort Worth and wanted to establish something to reflect the Black people and culture of the city.

The museum is planned to have restaurants, a movie theater, and retail stores that radiate Fort Worth’s Black culture. There are also plans to have a speaker series and children’s education programs.

The museum will be African-American-centric in its design, but Howard emphasizes that it will be a place for everyone to learn about African American people and support Historic Southside.

“If we are not our own advocates, then who will advocate for us?,” Howard says.