Nationally Acclaimed Master-Planning Team to Guide Galveston’s Creation of Juneteenth Center in Holiday's Birthplace

Award‑winning cultural‑planning and museum design firms – SmithGroup, Sources CRM and The Projects Group – will lead the master-planning process to develop a national home for Juneteenth history and culture in Galveston.

GALVESTON, TX (September 1, 2026) — Juneteenth’s Home, an initiative of Galveston Historical Foundation’s African American Heritage Committee (AAHC) as well as city leaders and state officials, today announced the launch of a major master‑planning effort to establish a national center dedicated to Juneteenth history, education, and cultural preservation in the city where Juneteenth began.

This milestone marks the transition from early visioning into a comprehensive planning process that will shape a world‑class cultural destination rooted in emancipation history and descendant experience. The year‑long effort will define the visitor experience, interpretive framework, and institutional vision for a national center honoring the legacy of emancipation.

• 

  Dayton Schroeter of SmithGroup

• 

  Dr. Calinda Lee of Sources CRM

• 

  Dr. Deborah Mack

To lead this work, Juneteenth’s Home has engaged a distinguished team of nationally recognized firms with deep expertise in cultural institutions, African American history, and community‑centered design:

• SmithGroup, one of the nation’s premier cultural‑planning and museum design firms, brings decades of experience shaping institutions that interpret complex histories. The firm’s cultural portfolio includes work on the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, the National Slavery Museum at Lumpkin’s Slave Jail, the Whitney Plantation, and major African American heritage sites across the country. SmithGroup is widely regarded for its leadership in justice‑centered design, community‑driven planning, and creating spaces that elevate historically marginalized voices.

• Sources Cultural Resources Management, founded and led by historian Dr. Calinda Lee, specializes in American history, interpretive planning, and community‑engagement strategy. The firm’s work includes major projects for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library in Washington, D.C.; the Atlanta History Center; National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. Sources CRM is recognized for developing community‑rooted narratives that connect descendants’ unique histories to contemporary concerns through meaningful, impactful and inspiring experiences.

• The Projects Group, a 100% employee‑owned firm with offices in Texas, New York, and Florida, specializes in owner’s representation, governance, and operational planning for complex cultural and civic projects. TPG has guided major institutions through long‑range planning, capital development, and sustainability strategies, ensuring that visionary cultural projects are supported by strong organizational foundations and long‑term viability.

  
  

Together, these partners will collaborate with residents, descendants, and cultural leaders to shape a national resource that honors the past and inspires future generations.

“Juneteenth began here in Galveston, but its meaning belongs to the nation,” said Stephen Holmes, spokesman for the Juneteenth’s Home planning committee. “Through this master‑planning effort, we are shaping a cultural home that will illuminate the stories of freedom, resilience, and community that define Juneteenth – not only for Galveston, but for all who look to this history for truth and inspiration.” 

Dayton Schroeter, Vice President and Design Director at SmithGroup, will serve as Architectural and Master Plan Design Lead for Juneteenth's Home. He said the team’s shared commitment and expertise position the project to meet its national significance with clarity and purpose.

“Establishing a national center for Juneteenth is a defining moment for how America remembers and interprets the story of freedom,” Schroeter said. “Our work will ensure that this history is preserved with rigor, expressed with dignity, and experienced in a way that deepens understanding across the country.” 

Galveston is state recognized as the “Official Juneteenth Capital of Texas” as the birthplace of this historical event and celebration of emancipation.  Juneteenth’s Home is supported by grant funding from the Texas Historical Commission along with local philanthropic organizations.

“Galveston is the birthplace of Juneteenth, making it the most fitting place for a museum dedicated to preserving the history and meaning of this celebration of freedom,” State Rep. Terri Leo Wilson said. “I am proud to have led efforts to designate Galveston as the Juneteenth Capital of Texas, author legislation allowing the sale and use of fireworks during the Juneteenth holiday, and work to secure the $7 million appropriated in the Texas budget for a Galveston Juneteenth Museum, alongside federal efforts to make this vision possible. We have a responsibility to preserve this history and ensure future generations understand the significance of freedom and the events that made Juneteenth a national celebration.”

For more information, visit www.juneteenthshome.com.

About Juneteenth’s Home

Juneteenth’s Home is a national initiative that honors Galveston as the birthplace of Juneteenth and seeks to build a home for its history, stories, and future. The effort is facilitated by Galveston Historical Foundation’s African American Heritage Committee (AAHC) in collaboration with city leaders and state officials. Juneteenth’s Home is guided by a community‑driven master‑planning process led by SmithGroup — in collaboration with Sources CRM and The Projects Group — one of the nation’s leading cultural‑planning and museum‑design teams. Together with local residents, descendants, cultural organizations, historians, and partners, the team is shaping a vision for how Juneteenth’s history, stories, and future should be honored. The initiative explores a range of possibilities, from programs and public spaces to the potential development of a landmark institution or cultural anchor. For more information, visit www.juneteenthshome.com.

About Galveston Historical Foundation’s African American Heritage Committee

For more than two decades, Galveston Historical Foundation's African American Heritage Committee (AAHC) has been a driving force in preserving, documenting, and elevating Galveston’s African American history, especially the story of Juneteenth. Founded in 2002 at Ashton Villa, the AAHC has protected historic sites like Rosewood Cemetery; developed Galveston’s Juneteenth exhibit And Still We Rise…; and secured multiple Texas Historical Commission markers honoring Juneteenth, the Middle Passage, and local pioneers. Publications by the AAHC and its members – Galveston’s African American Historic Places & Pioneers (2005), African Americans of Galveston (2013), Lost Restaurants of Galveston’s African American Community (2021), and Galveston’s Juneteenth Story (2024) – form a growing archive of the island’s Black history and cultural memory. As facilitator of the Juneteenth’s Home initiative, the AAHC brings this long-standing record of stewardship, research, and community leadership to the ongoing work of honoring Galveston’s Juneteenth story.