(Tallahassee, Fla.) – Today, State Sen. Tom Leek (R-Ormond Beach) filed Senate Bill 466: Florida Museum of Black History in furtherance of Florida’s Museum of Black History by creating a board of directors to oversee the commission, construction, operation and administration of the museum. The Florida Museum of Black History Task Force selected St. Johns County as the preferred location for the museum.

“As we recognize February as Black History Month, I am proud to file Senate Bill 466 as we move forward as the preferred location for the Florida Museum of Black History,” said Sen. Leek. “The museum will be built on the former site of Florida Memorial University, which has historical significance here in St. Johns County and I look forward to working with our community and our state in furtherance of this significant designation.”

Senate Bill 466 provides legislative intent by establishing the Florida Museum of Black History Board of Directors and requiring that the board work jointly with the Foundation for the Museum of Black History, Inc., and the St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners, which will provide administrative support and staffing to the board until the state completes specified actions.

The campus-style Black history museum is planned to be built on the former site of Florida Memorial University, one of the State’s oldest academic centers and a historically Black university as well as the site of the recent relocation of the Canright House – a home where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was scheduled to stay in the 1960s before segregationists vandalized it. The historical significance of this site provides a captivating, enchanting landscape through which to immerse in the centuries of steps taken by African Americans to advance racial equality.