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Letter to the editor

Museum of black history starts work

Work now has begun to turn the building into an African-American history museum.

By CARRIE JOHNSON
Published June 10, 2005

ST. PETERSBURG - The one-story concrete block building at 2240 Ninth Ave. S has been many things to the people of Jordan Park.

To City Council member Rene Flowers, it was the place where her grandmother organized a feeding program for the elderly. Others remembered attending teen dances in the 1950s and '60s. For years, it was the management office for the Jordan Park public housing community.

Now the 4,500-square-foot building is getting a new identity. On Thursday, city and St. Petersburg Housing Authority officials "broke ground" on the building, the symbolic beginning of a $350,000 renovation aimed at transforming it into a museum of African-American history.

"We are taking one step toward improving this community and making sure its culture survives those of us who are here today," said Tyna Middleton, chairwoman of the museum's board.

Named the Carter G. Woodson African American History Museum after the man who started Negro History Week, which evolved into Black History Month, it is scheduled to open in August.

The renovation is funded with money from the $27-million federal grant used to reconstruct Jordan Park. Known as HOPE VI, the grant was used to tear down 446 units built between 1939 and 1941 and replace them with 237 units.

Museum officials will seek more funding from grants and private donations, Middleton said.

The idea for the museum grew out of community meetings in 2001, said Darrell Irions, the Housing Authority's director. There was some initial disagreement over the museum's location, with some arguing it would attract more visitors if it was downtown.

But the authority's board dismissed that idea.

"If you pull this museum out of this community, it will be yet another broken promise," Irions said.

The museum will showcase photographs and items illustrating the history of the black community in St. Petersburg and Pinellas County, said Herb Snitzer, the museum's interim director. A collection already has been started with pictures and leases from Jordan Park donated by the Housing Authority.

The building will include space for classrooms, meeting rooms and a reception area, as well as exhibit space.

The museum was scheduled to open in June 2004, but it was delayed after the woman hired as the museum's director, Camille Ann Brewer, abruptly quit to take a job in Atlanta.

"It just stopped everything in its tracks," Snitzer said.

A permanent director - Ginger Baber, a teacher from Kansas City, Mo., with a Ph.D in anthropology - has been hired and is scheduled to take over at the end of the month.

Mayor Rick Baker, who spoke at Thursday's ceremony, said the museum would complement other redevelopment projects in Midtown, a section of the city south of Central Avenue that is largely African-American and struggling economically.

Council member Flowers, whose district includes the museum, thanked the Housing Authority and civic leaders who worked to bring the museum to St. Petersburg.

"It takes time, it takes effort and it has not been an easy road," she said. "But I thank you for all of your work, which is truly going to pay off for this city."

Several neighborhood residents attended the ceremony and voiced enthusiasm.

"This is truly great," said Lawrence Hills, 57, who grew up in Jordan Park. "There are so many things that have happened in that building. A lot of memories there."

[Last modified June 10, 2005, 01:10:11]