Lilly Endowment Awards $2.5M to the National Juneteenth Museum for Permanent Exhibition
(FORT WORTH, TEXAS – December 17, 2024) The National Juneteenth Museum (NJM) has received a $2.5 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. through its Religion and Cultural Institutions Initiative. The grant will support NJM’s permanent exhibition, The Spirit of Juneteenth, designed by Local Projects. This immersive, multi-sensory experience will explore Juneteenth’s origins, cultural and spiritual significance, and its lasting impact on American history. This support from Lilly Endowment is instrumental in bringing this vital story to the public.
Spirit of Juneteenth exhibition by Local Projects
As a 50,000-square-foot hub for education and celebration, the National Juneteenth Museum will honor the legacy of Juneteenth while fostering cultural understanding and community empowerment. In addition to preserving this pivotal moment in history, the museum will host educational programs, cultural events, and experiences that provide space for reflection and dialogue. Located in Fort Worth’s Historic Southside, NJM will serve as a cornerstone for revitalization, inspiring unity and creating new opportunities for the surrounding community.
“We are deeply grateful to Lilly Endowment Inc. for this generous grant, which will help bring The Spirit of Juneteenth to life,” says Jarred Howard, CEO of the National Juneteenth Museum. “With this support, the National Juneteenth Museum is another step closer to creating a transformative space in the Historic Southside of Fort Worth.”
The National Juneteenth Museum is one of 33 organizations from across the United States receiving grants through the latest round of the Religion and Cultural Institutions Initiative. Its aim is to support museums and other cultural organizations as they strengthen their capacity to provide fair, accurate and balanced portrayals of the role religion has played and continues to play in the United States and around the world.
“The United States is widely considered to be one of the most religiously diverse nations today,” said Christopher L. Coble, Lilly Endowment’s vice president for religion. “Many individuals and families trust museums and other cultural institutions and visit them to learn about their communities and the world. We are excited to support these organizations as they embark on projects to help visitors understand and appreciate the diverse religious beliefs, practices and perspectives of their neighbors and others in communities around the globe.”
Lilly Endowment Inc. is an Indianapolis-based private foundation created in 1937 by J.K. Lilly, Sr. and his sons Eli and J.K. Jr. through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. Although the gifts of stock remain a financial bedrock of the Endowment, it is a separate entity from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff and location. In keeping with the founders’ wishes, the Endowment supports the causes of community development, education and religion. Although the Endowment maintains a special commitment to its founders’ hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana, it also funds programs throughout the United States, especially in the field of religion. While the primary aim of its religion grantmaking focuses on strengthening the leadership and vitality of Christian congregations in the United States, the Endowment also seeks to foster public understanding about religion and lift up in fair, accurate and balanced ways the contributions that people of all faiths and diverse religious communities make to our greater civic well-being.