WHEREAS, St. Johns County has been selected as the priority location for the future Florida Museum of Black History, a state-of-the-art facility which will embody and convey the relevance of Black History in the local area and the State of Florida; and

WHEREAS, the support of St. Johns County residents was integral in securing the priority ranking of St. Johns County as the future site of the Florida Museum of Black History, as community members from West Augustine, organized and undertook what turned out to be a perilous journey on April 19, 2024, to Tallahassee to impress upon the State Task Force the importance of prioritizing St. Johns County as the location for the Museum; and

WHEREAS, St. Johns County wishes to recognize the commitment and dedication of the residents who were on the Tallahassee bound bus on April 19, 2024. All of whom chose to press on to Tallahassee to support the project even after the bus unexpectedly caught fire and had to be left behind, engulfed in flames, on the side of Interstate 10; and

WHEREAS, the residents successfully arrived in Tallahassee, demonstrating their enthusiastic support for locating this significant facility in their community and helped to secure St. Johns County’s priority status as the location for the Florida Museum of Black History; and

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT PROCLAIMED, by the Board of County Commissioners of St. Johns County that through the commitment and dedication of the St. Johns County residents,

WE BROUGHT THE SMOKE!

PASSED AND ADOPTED by the Board of County Commissioners of St. Johns County, Florida this 21^st day of April 2026.