Sarasota County Hopes To Be The Future Home of The Florida Museum Of Black History

Officials are expected to decide on a location in May 2024.

Florida State officials are searching for locations for the future Florida Museum of Black History, and Sarasota County is vying for the opportunity. Shantel Norman, group sales manager for Sarasota County, highlighted the county’s rich African American history.

“Sarasota is on the US Civil Rights Trail, right up there with iconic sites such as the Edmund Pettus Bridge and Ebenezer Baptist Church. Sarasota is the southernmost site on the trail. Why? Because of our beach desegregation story,” Norman said in an interview with WNMF.

The US Civil Rights Trail also includes Eatonville, America’s oldest incorporated Black community. Founded in 1887, Eatonville is the hometown of famed writer and folklorist Zora Neale Hurston.

Sarasota County was the home of the 1955 Beach Wade-Ins. Civil rights activist Neil Humphrey led residents onto then-segregated Lido Beach to protest Jim Crow laws.

Norman represented Sarasota County before the governor-appointed Florida Museum of Black History Task Force, whose role is to “provide recommendations for the planning, construction, operation, and administration of a Florida Museum of Black History.” When choosing a location, the nine-member committee will consider the city’s demographics and historical factors.

“Before July 1, 2024, the task force will submit a report detailing its plans and recommendations to the Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Minority Leader of the Senate, and the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives.”

Members of the task force include Sen. Bobby Powell, Terri Lipsey Scott, and Committee Chair Sen. Geraldine Thompson.

Sarasota will compete with Amelia Island, the home of American Beach — one of the only beaches in Florida that welcomed Black people during segregation. Other cities being considered are Daytona Beach, Opa-locka, County, Panama City, and St. Augustine.

All locations will be evaluated. The next committee meeting is Jan. 12, 2024.