LDS Church Donates 3 Million Dollars to National Juneteenth Museum in Fort Worth

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced a 3 million dollar donation on October 7, 2026, to support the National Juneteenth Museum in Fort Worth, Texas. The announcement came during a ceremony marking the demolition of the former Southside Community Center, which sits on the future museum site.

The timing was significant. October 7 was the 100th birthday of Dr. Opal Lee, the civil rights activist known as the "Grandmother of Juneteenth." Lee has spent decades advocating for Juneteenth to be recognized as a federal holiday, a goal achieved in 2021.

The LDS Church's contribution will fund both construction of the 50,000-square-foot museum and the creation of an integrated genealogy center powered by FamilySearch. The center will give visitors free access to FamilySearch's digital collections, with a focus on helping African American families recover histories that were disrupted or erased by slavery.

Elder Michael A. Dunn, a General Authority Seventy and president of the Church's United States Southwest Area, represented the organization at the ceremony. He said the partnership grew out of years of relationship-building with African American faith and community leaders in North Texas.

With the LDS Church's gift, the museum has raised 55 million dollars of its 70 million dollar fundraising goal. Demolition of existing structures has begun, though a completion date has not been announced.