{"id":337250,"date":"2026-07-11T22:07:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-11T22:07:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/337250\/"},"modified":"2026-07-11T22:07:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-11T22:07:09","slug":"carter-g-woodson-museum-reopens-after-renovations-unveils-smithsonian-exhibition-and-looks-towards-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/337250\/","title":{"rendered":"Carter G. Woodson Museum reopens after renovations, unveils Smithsonian exhibition and looks towards future"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p data-v-94395e58=\"\">ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. &#8211; After six months of renovations, the Carter G. Woodson African American Museum is welcoming visitors back with more than just a refreshed building.<\/p>\n<p data-v-94395e58=\"\">Saturday&#8217;s celebration marked the museum&#8217;s reopening, the debut of a new Smithsonian exhibition and a renewed commitment to preserving and sharing Black history, while city leaders also highlighted major plans for the museum&#8217;s future.<\/p>\n<p>   Carter G. Woodson Museum reopens <\/p>\n<p original-article-post=\"\" origination_station=\"WTVT\" data-v-ec26887a=\"\" data-v-94395e58=\"\">What we know:<\/p>\n<p data-v-94395e58=\"\">Supporters gathered Saturday morning as the museum celebrated the completion of a $1 million renovation project and its 20th anniversary in St. Petersburg.<\/p>\n<p> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/vlcsnap-2026-07-11-17h28m10s173.png\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" width=\"932\" height=\"524\" data-v-2fe2fe3e=\"\"\/>  <\/p>\n<p data-v-94395e58=\"\">Executive Director Terri Lipsey Scott reflected on the museum&#8217;s impact over the past two decades, noting its advocacy for underserved communities and more than $1 million awarded in scholarships. The museum is also home to the permanent Harriet Tubman:\u00a0The Beacon of Hope\u00a0exhibit.<\/p>\n<p> New Smithsonian exhibition <\/p>\n<p original-article-post=\"\" origination_station=\"WTVT\" data-v-ec26887a=\"\" data-v-94395e58=\"\">Dig deeper:<\/p>\n<p data-v-94395e58=\"\">The museum also premiered\u00a0&#8220;Many Voices, One Nation: Our Community,&#8221; a Smithsonian exhibition that explores American history through multiple perspectives, examining both historical milestones and ongoing conversations about representation and inclusion.<\/p>\n<p> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/vlcsnap-2026-07-11-17h28m15s740.png\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" width=\"932\" height=\"524\" data-v-2fe2fe3e=\"\"\/>  <\/p>\n<p data-v-94395e58=\"\">&#8220;We&#8217;re deeply honored to be celebrated and included as one of three cultural institutions in the entire state of Florida to partner with the Smithsonian and the Florida Humanities Council,&#8221; said Lipsey Scott, &#8220;I think that&#8217;s a pretty big deal.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/vlcsnap-2026-07-11-17h29m46s344.png\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" width=\"932\" height=\"524\" data-v-2fe2fe3e=\"\"\/>  <\/p>\n<p data-v-94395e58=\"\">The partnership comes as the Smithsonian has drawn national attention following criticism from the Trump administration&#8217;s Domestic Policy Council over how American history is presented at some of its museums.<\/p>\n<p data-v-94395e58=\"\">On July 4th, it released a 162-page report, &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Smithsonian-Report-Saving-Americas-Story.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Saving America&#8217;s History<\/a>&#8220;.<\/p>\n<p original-article-post=\"\" origination_station=\"WTVT\" data-v-ec26887a=\"\" data-v-94395e58=\"\">What&#8217;s next:<\/p>\n<p data-v-94395e58=\"\">St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch said the city&#8217;s selected development team for the Historic Gas Plant District has committed to investing at least $10 million in a new Woodson Museum, helping ensure the institution continues serving future generations.<\/p>\n<p data-v-94395e58=\"\">The Carter G. Woodson African American Museum is open Tuesday through Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.<\/p>\n<p class=\"group-source-paragraph\" data-v-4fbf7207=\"\">The Source: This story is based on FOX 13&#8217;s reporting on the museum&#8217;s reopening celebration, interviews with Executive Director Terri Lipsey Scott, St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch and state Rep. Michele Rayner, along with information shared by museum officials during Saturday&#8217;s event.<\/p>\n<p>    <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fox13news.com\/tag\/us\/fl\/pinellas\/st-petersburg\" class=\"tags-tag\" data-v-94395e58=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">St. Petersburg<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. &#8211; After six months of renovations, the Carter G. Woodson African American Museum is welcoming&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":337251,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[47,115,1157,202,204,203,199,201,200,628],"class_list":["post-337250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-st-petersburg","tag-fl","tag-news","tag-pinellas","tag-st-pete","tag-st-pete-headlines","tag-st-pete-news","tag-st-petersburg","tag-st-petersburg-headlines","tag-st-petersburg-news","tag-us"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337250","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=337250"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337250\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/337251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=337250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=337250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=337250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}