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Public commenters urge transparent, inclusive process for Galveston Juneteenth museum planning
Summary
During public comment, members of a local Juneteenth alliance said community groups were excluded from a recent press conference and demanded a fair, transparent selection process for the museum master plan.
At the Nov. 13 Galveston City Council meeting, Sam Samuel Collins III told the council the local Juneteenth planning effort has been years in the making and criticized a recent press conference by the Galveston Historical Foundation as exclusionary.
Collins said community contributors who have worked toward a Juneteenth museum since 2021 felt sidelined by the Oct. 16 conference. “The October 16 press conference, held by the Galveston Historical Foundation, was planned in secret and excluded many community members,” Collins said, calling for “a fair and transparent process that is inclusive of the entire community.” (Sam Samuel Collins III, public commenter.)
The remarks followed a proclamation earlier in the meeting in which Mayor Craig Brown read that state funding — $7,000,000 — had been secured for a Juneteenth Museum, and State Representative Terry Leo Wilson accepted the proclamation and thanked the council for the recognition. The proclamation text as read by the mayor noted Representative Wilson’s role in securing state funding for a Juneteenth Museum in Galveston.
No response from the Galveston Historical Foundation is recorded in the meeting transcript. Councilors and staff did not take action on the comment during the meeting; public comment was placed in the record for staff follow‑up as appropriate.
Next steps: The comment places community inclusion and transparency on the public record; the council or museum planning body will need to address representation on selection committees and outreach moving forward.
