Plans and designs for an African American museum in Palm Beach County have been approved, moving a long-anticipated cultural project closer to construction.

The museum will be at the historic site of Roosevelt High School, which once served as the county’s only Black high school. Right now, the building is abandoned, but officials say it will soon be transformed into Palm Beach County’s first African American museum.

Danita DeHaney, president and CEO of the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties, said the museum will highlight the impact African Americans had on shaping the region.

“One of the things you’ll learn when you visit this museum is the role that African Americans played in the building of West Palm Beach and Palm Beach — the stories are compelling,” DeHaney said. “Our lives were integral to how this place looks today. It's going to talk about the role of the Black Seminoles when freed slaves that left Georgia and Alabama that landed here, and how they helped build this area."

The site itself carries deep historical significance. Roosevelt High School served as a central institution in the Black community during segregation. DeHaney describes this location as a centerpiece for revitalization.

“It was the only Black High school in Palm Beach County many years ago,” DeHaney said. “It was situated within the heartbeat of Black life … doctors, lawyers, teachers. It was phenomenal. When the United States decided to desegregate its public schools, that decision was made in 1954. The state of Florida didn't actually enact that decision until the 70s and what happened was all the Black kids were bused 45 minutes to white schools. They weren't wanted, they could no longer participate in activities, parents couldn't be involved ... it became a negative trajectory for those students and the community."

Plans call for a 37,000-square-foot facility designed by BORA Architecture & Interiors. Leaders say the space will function as a cultural hub while preserving and meeting the needs of the community.

“It’s also going to be a place where new stories are told,” DeHaney said. “We’ll have four galleries, we’ll have an event space, there will be an upstairs outdoors café, and there will be a research library and the museum is intended to inspire hope in the younger generations,” DeHaney said.

The way the operations work with the community foundation is that of an incubator. Once their job of raising money and designing the building is completed, nonprofit leaders will turn it over to a board that will govern the body for the museum.

"They will actually determine lots of the programming and activities that occur there. What I've learned so far is you'll see weddings, sorority and fraternity events, and fireside chats," DeHaney said.

The project gained momentum in June 2024 when the Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners approved $1 million in funding for planning and development.

“They’ve actually given us $2 million to date and we have to raise the rest to complete the museum,” DeHaney said. “The county’s money is being invested in the campus where the high school resided and the shell for the new museum, so our goal is $30 million, and we’ve got about $27 million to go.”

DeHaney said the foundation would like to complete fundraising efforts within the next 15 months. Construction on additions to the existing structure is expected to begin in November. Project leaders hope to open the museum to the public in December 2028.