National Juneteenth Museum

What National Juneteenth Museum does

The National Juneteenth Museum (NJM) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization developing a 50,000-square-foot cultural institution in Fort Worth, Texas's Historic Southside neighborhood, dedicated to preserving and celebrating Juneteenth history and African American heritage. The project was conceived by Dr. Opal Lee, the "Grandmother of Juneteenth," whose 1,400-mile advocacy walk in 2016 contributed to Juneteenth becoming a U.S. federal holiday in 2021. Construction is targeted for Q4 2026, with the planned campus featuring 10,000 square feet of immersive exhibition galleries, architecture by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), exhibition design by Local Projects (the firm behind the National September 11 Memorial and Museum), and a permanent exhibition titled "The Spirit of Juneteenth" backed by a $2.5 million Lilly Endowment grant.

The organization spans cultural preservation, education, and economic revitalization, with planned facilities including a 250-seat theater, a Black Box flexible event space, a business incubator and co-working facility, a food hall featuring local chefs, and the National Juneteenth Plaza public courtyard. Pre-opening programming comprises the Uniting Voices Speaker Series (presented by Bank of America), History Harvest community archive events (in partnership with the University of North Texas Library Special Collections), a Dinner & Discussion culinary series, and the Freedom Vibes festival (presented by Fidelity Investments), serving simultaneously as community engagement channels and fundraising vehicles while the physical site is under development.

NJM operates as a capital campaign-driven organization with a $70 million fundraising goal — of which more than half has been raised as of 2024 through institutional gifts (City of Fort Worth $15M, BNSF Railway $2M, Lilly Endowment $2.5M, Bank of America $1M, Meta, Amon Carter Foundation, North Texas Community Foundation, Rainwater Initiative, Paycom, MacArthur Foundation, Atmos Energy) and individual donations via a portal offering preset amounts of $25/$50/$100/$150 or custom recurring contributions. The team is small (approximately six paid staff led by CEO Jarred Howard, appointed April 2023), supplemented by an Executive Board. No proprietary technology platform is disclosed; the primary technology touchpoint is a Meta-sponsored 3D virtual video tour of the planned campus. GTM motion is event-driven, centered on programming that cultivates donors, partners, and community support ahead of physical opening.

Name

National Juneteenth Museum

Legal name

The National Juneteenth Museum

Website

https://nationaljuneteenthmuseum.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1865

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The National Juneteenth Museum is a Fort Worth, Texas-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit developing a 50,000-square-foot cultural institution dedicated to preserving Juneteenth history and African American heritage, supported by a $70 million capital campaign and major institutional partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cultural and Historical Museum

NAICS

Historical Sites (71212), Historical Sites (712120), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

History Museums (THAJADAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cultural Heritage Institutions (Archives, Historic Houses, Monuments Foundations) (THAJADAI), Museum & Landmark Guided Tours (Skip-the-line/Docent-led) (THAJAAAC)

Keywords

• Cultural museum services
• Historical preservation
• Community education programs
• Heritage tourism venues
• Cultural event programming

Headquarters

HQ city

Fort Worth

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: The museum operates as a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Primary revenue consists of private and corporate donations, government programs, foundation grants, and founding donor gifts.
2. Future Museum Operations and Tourism: Once opened, the museum plans to generate revenue through tourism, its food hall featuring emerging chef concepts, a business incubator, a 250-seat theater hosting events, and flexible event spaces for corporate and community functions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

The National Juneteenth Museum is developing a 50,000-square-foot cultural institution in Fort Worth's Historic Southside dedicated to preserving and celebrating the history of Juneteenth and African American heritage. Its offerings include immersive permanent and rotating exhibitions (notably 'The Spirit of Juneteenth'), educational and community programs (Uniting Voices Speaker Series, Dinner & Discussion, History Harvest), an annual Freedom Vibes Festival, a 250-seat theater, Black Box flexible event space, food hall, business incubator/co-working space, and outdoor National Juneteenth Plaza.

Product overview

The National Juneteenth Museum is a single unified cultural institution—a 50,000-square-foot destination museum with integrated programs and services. The core museum experience features immersive exhibition galleries (including 'The Spirit of Juneteenth' permanent exhibition designed by Local Projects), a 250-seat theater for lectures and performances, and a Black Box flexible event space. Adjacent offerings include a Business Incubator and Food Hall supporting local entrepreneurs, while the public programming portfolio comprises the Uniting Voices Speaker Series (featuring Bryan Stevenson, Isabel Wilkerson, Henry Louis Gates Jr.), the Dinner & Discussion culinary series, and the History Harvest community archive initiative with UNT. The Freedom Vibes Festival serves as the flagship annual Juneteenth celebration. A Meta-sponsored 3D Virtual Video Tour extends digital access to the campus. The museum campus includes the National Juneteenth Plaza as outdoor public space.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Uniting Voices: The National Juneteenth Museum's Speaker Series featuring inspirational and exceptional people who have contributed to culture, progress, and justice through their personal and professional lives.
• History Harvest
• Dinner & Discussion
• Freedom Vibes

Products and services

• National Juneteenth Museum A 50,000-square-foot cultural and educational hub dedicated to preserving and celebrating the history of Juneteenth and African American heritage. The museum features immersive exhibition galleries (including 'The Spirit of Juneteenth'), educational programs, community events, and serves as an economic catalyst for Fort Worth's Historic Southside neighborhood.
• Business Incubator and Co-Working Space A facility within the museum complex designed to support emerging entrepreneurs and foster economic growth in the Historic Southside neighborhood through mentorship, resources, and collaborative workspace.
• Food Hall A food hall featuring culturally diverse cuisine and talented local chefs and restaurateurs, part of the museum's economic development initiative to support local food entrepreneurs.
• 250-Seat Theater and Auditorium A 250-seat theater and auditorium for lectures, performances, and events, hosting guest speakers, community gatherings, and cultural programming.
• Black Box Flexible Space A versatile event space for traveling exhibitions, seminars, and various corporate and community functions, supporting the museum's diverse programming needs.
• 3D Virtual Video Tour

Quantifiable outcome

• Expected to serve as economic catalyst for Fort Worth's Historic Southside neighborhood, which currently has the state's lowest life expectancy and high infant mortality rates due to disinvestment

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, supporting and flagship.

• University of North Texas Library Special CollectionscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 July 2024The National Juneteenth Museum partnered with the University of North Texas Special Collections department to host History Harvest community events, creating a community archive of local stories surrounding Juneteenth and the histories of enslaved and freed people. UNT Library Special Collections will house and preserve contributed materials in their digital archives. Morgan Gieringer, Head of Special Collections at UNT, stated that community members are the heart of successful archiving.
• MetacoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 June 2023Meta announced a partnership with the National Juneteenth Museum to help fund the new museum and community complex. In addition to supporting the museum directly, Meta's grant sponsored the creation of a 3D virtual video tour of the campus, launched in early fall 2023. Meta is also listed as a strategic partner on the museum's Get Involved page.
• Local ProjectscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal Projects, a Cannes Lion award-winning exhibition design firm renowned for designing New York City's National September 11 Memorial and Museum, was selected to lead the experience and exhibition design efforts for the National Juneteenth Museum. The firm will design immersive, interactive exhibitions featuring multimedia installations and historical artifacts. CEO Jarred Howard stated Local Projects was specifically selected for their unparalleled expertise in creating immersive and impactful exhibits.
• Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBjarke Ingels Group (BIG), the renowned Danish architecture firm, was commissioned to design the National Juneteenth Museum. The innovative design reflects the resilience and richness of African American culture, aiming to foster education, growth, and connection. New architectural renderings were unveiled in February 2025 following the Fort Worth City Council's approval of the Southside Community Center site.
• Atmos EnergysupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerAtmos Energy is listed as a strategic partner and presented the Dinner & Discussion series. The partnership supports the museum's community programming efforts.
• Fidelity InvestmentsflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerFidelity Investments is the presenting sponsor of Freedom Vibes — The Nation's Premiere Juneteenth Celebration, the annual festival produced by the National Juneteenth Museum.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• National Museum of African American Music: Nashville-based museum opened in 2021 celebrating Black music traditions. Comparable as a newly opened African American cultural institution with a focused thematic scope and a similar funding profile from corporate and foundation partners.
• Houston Museum of African American Culture: Houston-based cultural institution featuring exhibitions of African and African American art, history, and culture. Notably, Christopher Blay, NJM's Director of Public Programs, served as HMAAC's Chief Curator — illustrating a direct programmatic lineage between the two institutions.
• Birmingham Civil Rights Institute: Interpretive museum and research center in Birmingham, AL, chronicling the civil rights movement. Comparable educational-institution model with strong school-field-trip and donor-supported operating structure.
• Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History: Largest African American museum in the world (Detroit), covering African American history and culture across centuries. Comparable in collection-driven museum model and mid-size cultural institution scale; a relevant benchmark for attendance and operating model.
• Museum of the African Diaspora: San Francisco-based museum focused on the African diaspora, including the African American experience. Comparable as a curated cultural institution serving both tourism and educational programming with a heritage-and-identity focus.
• The Legacy Museum / National Memorial for Peace and Justice: Equal Justice Initiative-operated sites in Montgomery, AL, addressing slavery, lynching, and mass incarceration. Bryan Stevenson, founder of EJI, was the inaugural Uniting Voices speaker at NJM, signaling an explicit programmatic kinship between the institutions.
• National Civil Rights Museum: Located at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. A long-established, high-traffic museum dedicated to the civil rights movement and African American struggle for freedom — directly adjacent to NJM's emancipation narrative.
• International African American Museum: Opened in Charleston, S.C. in 2023 with a ~$100M build, focused on the African American journey from the African coast through enslavement to liberation. Most directly comparable in mission, scale, and pre-opening capital campaign profile; also serves as a benchmark for new African American museum launches.

Broad incumbents

• National Museum of African American History and Culture: Smithsonian-operated national museum in Washington, D.C. covering African American life, history, and culture. The most prominent comparable; NJM positions itself as a complementary Juneteenth-focused national institution rather than a direct competitor, but both compete for tourism, donor, and educational attention.

Emerging players

• Whitney Plantation: Wallace, Louisiana site dedicated specifically to the history of slavery in the U.S. Closest thematic peer to NJM in scope (slavery-to-freedom narrative), though much smaller in scale and operating model. Useful as a thematic analog for Juneteenth-specific historical interpretation.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/juneteenthmuseum
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/juneteenthmsm

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about National Juneteenth Museum