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Correy Bell is Chaos and Comedic Genius

For Mother’s Day weekend, the Chicago Defender shares stories of dynamic Black women thriving in their careers and providing loving guidance for their families. Correy Bell is organized chaos. It’s the sum and substance of who she is. It’s the energy she comes with when she ascends upon a stage. It may also represent the […]
The post Correy Bell is Chaos and Comedic Genius first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

Published

3 years ago

May 14, 2023

Chicago Defender Staff

For Mother’s Day weekend, the Chicago Defender shares stories of dynamic Black women thriving in their careers and providing loving guidance for their families.

Correy Bell is organized chaos.

It’s the sum and substance of who she is. It’s the energy she comes with when she ascends upon a stage. It may also represent the Chicago comedy landscape, where the rooms differ racially, depending on what side of town you’re on, but it’s a scene she has mastered, by the way.

“Organized Chaos” is the title of her recently released comedy album, recorded during the pandemic.

“What I did was record an old school comedy album, like vinyl, like Red Foxx, like Richard Pryor. And it was what it was; it was organized chaos,” she said. “It was about the pandemic; it was about my children. It was about me being an adult, me being a grandmother. It’s about a little bit of everything that everybody can relate to.”

Correy Bell, Organized Chaos Album Cover

Correy Bell’s brand of organized chaos is also being dressed to the nines to perform and remaining as real and damn funny as your big sister or favorite aunt without even trying.

In a recent interview, Bell talked about growing up on the South Side near 95th and Vincennes, that one time she performed at a Harold’s Chicken, and why Chicago has the best comedy scene in the country.

We also discussed how she and Mo’Nique remain “thick as thieves.”

Chicago Defender: So I read an article somewhere where you said that you got into comedy about nine years ago, right?

Correy Bell: November will be my ninth year, what we call a comedy-versary. And I literally started comedy on a dare from a good friend of mine. I just met her at the legendary “Jokes and Notes” comedy club. And she was telling me about a room. I was like, “Oh, I love comedy.” And one day, she was like, “Listen, if you come next week, I’m putting you on stage.” And I was like, “Girl, no, you are not putting me on stage, no you will not.” I kept saying, “Well, I’m funny. One day, I’m gonna try it.” And she basically was like, “I dare you.”

So the next week I came, the comics went up. And she went up there and called my name. And I was like, “the nerve of her.”

But at this point it’s like sink or swim. And I went up there. I told one of the worst jokes that I could have ever created when I think about it, and a couple of people laughed. And I was like, let me try it one more time. Something else really silly. And people laughed.

And literally, from that moment, I had been bit by the bug.

CD: Do you remember the joke? The one that made you say, “I’ve got this.”

Correy Bell: Yes. As a matter of fact, I recently found a clip of it, way dusted in the archives, and I posted it on Instagram. It was basically about my friends trying to be uppity and they didn’t know how. And we were in a restaurant. And they told the waiter that they only drank bottled water, but then asked for a glass of ice. And I’m like, “what you think the ice come from?”

Like you’re trying to be bougie you don’t even know how to do it. But it worked then and it worked because it was relatable. Because there’s so many people in there. Like, “I don’t drink faucet water.”

We grew up on faucet water, the outside hose water. That’s what we grew up on. That’s why our immune system is so strong.

“You’ve got to be fearless before you’re funny in Chicago.”

CD: [Chuckles] That’s right, we can survive anything after that. So when people get into comedy, there’s like this inkling, right? “I’m funny. My friends think I’m funny.” Did you have any inkling of that as you were growing up?

Correy Bell: So I’ve always been funny to everyone else. I never considered myself funny. I just thought that I said what people were thinking, but too politically correct to say out of their mouth. Like they were not risk takers. Me on the other hand, it was like a vending machine and to go in my head, it’s going to come out my mouth.

My sister would always say stuff like, “You’ve missed your calling. You are supposed to be on stage. You are a clown and you missed your calling.” And it really was my oldest sister Kim, who basically was like, “You’ve got to get on stage.”

And then the cards just aligned. You know, I’m funny. Everybody tells me I’m funny. And I’m like, “I’m not funny, I’m just real. And you guys are just scared to be who you are. So let me be your representative.”

And that’s kind of how that happened.

CD: You from Chicago? Correct?

Correy Bell: Southside baby, born and raised!

CD: What streets?

Correy Bell: Listen, I am from 93rd in Ada. I’m right off 95th and Vincennes. Right before Beverly.

CD: Okay. Talk about growing up in that area. What was that like for you?

Correy Bell: Oh, my God, growing up on the Southside of Chicago. I look at my children now. And I look at them and I’m like, “y’all don’t know what real kid fun is.” Like these kids are so into their phones.

We didn’t have phones. I grew up in the village that raised the children. So, the people on my block knew the people next door on the other block, and knew the people behind us. So, when we went outside, it was safe, because everybody watched out for everybody. So, when we played ding-dong-ditch, if you got caught, they knew where you lived. So you cannot be the slow one. You got to be able to run.

We had the community. We had the village. I could walk from my house to Evergreen Plaza and see the movies or go to Montgomery Wards. We did that at 87th Street, where we would go to the carnival, or the drive-in or go kart racing out on Halsted. My growing up years is where we developed real friendships. It was like if you had two people and one pair of skates, then we each had one skate. It’s ten people and eight bikes is ten people on the bikes, because you rode with your friends.

I miss that community feel, that village feel. Our children miss that. I’m like, “y’all don’t know fun.”

You don’t know about sleepovers and making mud pies in the backyard. Like, I’m that old. I’m mud pie old. Don’t make this face fool you here, baby. I am mud pie in the backyard, ding-dong-ditch, running bases old. So I missed that for our children. But my childhood was dope.

“I knew that if I wanted to be world renowned…I had to be able to play to the North Side and the South Side.”

CD: What do you think sets you apart from everybody else in the comedy landscape?

Correy Bell: One of the things that sets me apart, is when I step on stage, other comedians would consider it being over the top. I consider it wearing what’s comfortable for me. It would give like [the comedian] Sommore. And Sommore would come out, and baby, she is dressed.

It’s like when I put my stuff on, I feel good. I talk about my family. I talk about my experiences. I don’t necessarily have to do a stock joke. That’s why my album Organized Chaos is what it is, because it’s who I am, what I’ve lived.

Because my house alone — let me tell you something — my house by itself is a complete comedy set every day. There’s a joke every single day. What sets me apart is that nobody can tell my story like me. And it’s unique, it’s relatable. Even though it’s my story, you got mothers and friends and cousins, and people out there that’s going, “Listen, I’m over 40 and I understand why we got to take a nap.”

You know, I tried to stray away from what they already expect for black female comedians to talk about. I don’t really talk about dating. They expect dating, sex, weight loss or weight gain and kids. That’s normally what they expect. And even though I talk about those things, there’s a whole world outside of that that I choose to talk about. So that you’re not getting what you expect that you thought you’d get. I’m gonna give you all of it.

Correy Bell performs on stage.

CD: What was life like before comedy? You used to work at Groupon, is that right?

Correy Bell: Listen, I was the queen of customer service, okay. I’ve done all of the jobs, all of the customer service jobs. I did a lot of HR. Groupon was the last job that I worked before I became a full-time comic. And when I say it was by far one of the most fun jobs I’ve ever had, like, it was the most entertaining. We literally got paid to play because the CEO was only 28 at the time when he opened the company. So, he was the kid, and so were we.

And even in having what I would have considered, one of the most fun or one of the best jobs, when I started doing comedy, I strayed away from it. It was almost like I was serving two masters.

CD: So you were working rooms while you were working at Groupon?

Correy Bell: I was doing open mics and stuff like that. So if I’m out doing two or three rooms. Because, let me tell you, Chicago comedy has the best comedy scene in the country. I’m okay with arguing that with people from other places, but the monsters come from Chicago.

We do comedy in places that people don’t want comedy. We are in the bars. We are in the lounges. We done snuck up in libraries. I did comedy in a Harold’s chicken restaurant.

CD: Which one?

Correy Bell: 14th and Wabash. Black owned. Yeah, I did comedy in the Harold’s chicken, okay. So you have to build your character, and you got to get the tiger stripes. You’ve got to be fearless before you’re funny in Chicago. That’s why, when we go to New York and we go to LA and we go to Atlanta, stepping on the stage we are fearless. And then we slap you around with a little bit of funny. So because I had to go and fight in these rooms, when I would get up in the morning to go to Groupon, I liked it a little bit less every time because I was growing the love for what was happening over here.

And one day, December 1, I got a message that I no longer was an employee of Groupon. Quit, got fired, don’t matter. I didn’t work anymore. And I sat down and I talked to my husband and my husband said, “Listen, I want you to take six months, and I want you to do nothing but comedy. I got the bills, I have everything. And if in six months, it’s working, you keep going. But if, in six months, it don’t work. Baby girl, you work.”

So it just so happens, I was about a year in, and I landed my first TV gig with [producer] Bob Sumner and truTV. Flown out to LA within the first 14 months of me doing comedy.

CD: Was that Laff Tracks?

Correy Bell: Yes, Laff Mobb’s Laff Tracks. So I love Groupon for everything that it gave me, but it was time to go.

CD: I did read somewhere where you talked about the difference between a South Side room and a North Side room and having the ability to navigate those rooms? Can you talk a little bit about that?

Correy Bell: Absolutely. There’s a big difference between the North Side and the South Side. We already know that Chicago — I didn’t really learn this until I went to New York and other places — how segregated Chicago is. So when we do comedy, if you are on the South Side, the majority of those rooms are black. Anything north of 22nd Street, when you go North Side, those are the majority of white rooms.

And when I say rooms, I mean the clubs, the open mics, wherever they decide to do it. And what I tell people all the time is you will go to the South Side for the money. That’s where the money was. The North Side, you went for opportunity. And I say that because we don’t have any black comedy clubs in Chicago. “Jokes and Notes” is what we had, and we don’t have it anymore. So, we don’t have a place to call home. So when the Just for Laughs, ABC or NBC, any of the bigger names, they’re coming to Chicago in order to search for opportunity or whatever, they’re going to the North Side.

So what I decided to do was, I worked the South Side because that’s why I built my stripes. That’s where I get the punches. Because I’m in a bar with somebody sitting and they trying to watch the game. They ain’t got no interest in comedy. They trying to buy the girl a drink at a bar, it’s somebody’s birthday, and they was drunk when we got there. And now I got to stop this party and get them to pay attention to me and to laugh. That’s what you get on the South Side.

So when you go to the North Side, because the clubs are there, which I love. I’m so grateful for all of them. When you go to Laugh Factory, Comedy Bar, Zanies, like all of these clubs on the North Side, they’re designed for comedy. So the audiences are structured.

I knew that if I wanted to be world renowned, if I wanted to make sure that my jokes translate and I can go anywhere. I had to do both sides. I had to be able to play to the North Side and the South Side. If you want to make it in Chicago, you’ve got to do both sides.

CD: Now, I saw that you had tweeted, Mo’Nique, and that’s how that relationship began. Is that right? And what made you get up the nerve to do that?

Correy Bell: Well, what ended up happening was I went to a Jill Scott concert. And after Jill Scott’s first song, we heard a big boom. The power goes out. They tried to fix it for about 30-40 minutes. They could not get it fixed. There’s no Jill Scott. On the way out, they had all of the posters of people who had performed there in the past. We were at the Horseshoe Casino. And there was a picture of Mo’Nique and I took a picture. And I was like, “You know what, one day I’ll have a picture right next to hers.” Because that’s who I looked up to.

And not too long after that, I saw that she was coming to Chicago. And something in me was like, you know, “try it.” So I sent out an Instagram message. And I said, “Hey, guys, I need all my friends to tag Mo’Nique and tell her to let me open up for her at the Chicago Improv.

And people started tagging her. And maybe about five minutes later, she responded. She said, like you always hear her say, “Hey, my sweet baby, you know, meet me at the Improv.” And I was like, “Nah, this can’t be real.”

And the crazy thing was, I never got an inbox or any of that. I inboxed her. There was no meet me at this time, on this day, ask for this person.

It was like, “How bad do you want it? You going to have to figure this out yourself.” And I had already seen in my mind, I’m like, yo, if I can’t get in…Do you remember the episode of Martin when he went on The Varnell Hill Show and showed up with K-Ci and JoJo? I was going to bum rush the stage because I am going.

Well, the morning of the first show on that Friday, she did an interview with WGCI. And the radio personality was basically saying, “Hey, you know, I see that Mo’Nique you’re here in Chicago, and you have Correy Bell opening up for you.” And she said, “Hey, I don’t know who this Correy Bell is, but the second that I responded to her Instagram, people were going crazy about it. So I’m excited to meet her.”

So at this point, now, it’s on because she knows and she remembered. Like, it is on. So I showed up and it was almost like we had never not known each other. We hugged and we talked and we embraced. And I said, “Is there anything that you don’t want me to talk about?” And she basically said, “You have seven minutes.”

CD: Oh.

Correy Bell: She said, “everybody out there bought a ticket to see me. I want you to go out there and make them want to come back and see you. So don’t keep nothing. Leave it all out on the stage and have a good time.” Cool! So that’s what I did. I’m at home. This is Chicago. So, I did what I do.

I went out, and I did my seven minutes and I came back in. And when I came into the back, she was crying. And I was like, “What did I do? What did I say?” Like, “how did I mess this up?”

And she said, “I’ve been looking for you. And I’ve been looking for somebody that I can pour my knowledge about comedy and this business into, and I know that that’s you. And we literally have been thick as thieves since then.

Right after that, I finished the weekend with her. I went out on the road with her. I did her Vegas residency, all nine months in Vegas with her. And then, she invited me to do Showtime’s Mo’Nique & Friends with her. It was amazing. And just recently, even with all the touring that we did, I opened for her Netflix special.

So, it has been a crazy, wild ride with her. I appreciate every second that we spend together — every conversation, every teachable moment, every interview that I’ve been able to sit in with her, every stage that we’ve shared. So to be able to sit with somebody who has more than 30 years into this business, and as fearless as she is, it’s an honor.

CD: What’s next for Correy Bell?

Correy Bell: Everything! I want all of it. You have people in comedy for different reasons. I am going for my yellow jacket. Like I’m, I’m going for it. So, I will always end up on that stage. Because that stage is where my superpowers lie.

But TV, movies, commercials, maybe a talk show. But touring is what I love because it’s something about that instant gratification that you get when people are really quiet because they’re paying attention or they’re falling out of their seat because they thought it was hilarious.

That, for me, is my comfort zone. It’s my safe place. When I get on stage, nothing else matters. So the stage, TV, anything. It’s limitless. The possibilities are open. I’m open to what’s for me, whatever that entails. But I’m gonna make sure that the people know my name.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

The post Correy Bell is Chaos and Comedic Genius appeared first on Chicago Defender.

The post Correy Bell is Chaos and Comedic Genius first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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Black Artists in America, Installation Three Wraps at the Dixon Gallery and Gardens

TRI-STATE DEFENDER — With 50+ paintings, sculptures and assemblages, the exhibit features artists like Varnette Honeywood from Los Angeles, whose pieces appeared in Bill Coby’s private collection (before they were auctioned off) and on “The Cosby Show.” Also included are works by Alonzo Davis, another Los Angeles artist who opened one of the first galleries there where Black Artists could exhibit.

Published

1 week ago

March 24, 2026

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By Candace A. Gray | Tri-State Defender

The tulips gleefully greet those who enter the gates at the Dixon Gallery & Gardens on an almost spring day. More than 650,000 bulbs of various hues are currently on display. And they are truly breathtaking.

Inside the gallery, and equally as breathtaking, is the “Black Artists in America, From the Bicentennial to September 11” exhibit, which runs through Sunday, March 29. This is the third installment of a three-part series that started years ago and illustrates part of the Black experience through visual arts in the 20th century.

“This story picks up where part two left off,’’ said Kevin Sharp, the Linda W. and S. Herbert Rhea director for the Dixon. “This era is when we really start to see the emergence of these important Black artists’ agency and freedom shine through. They start to say and express what they want to, and it was a really beautiful time.”

With 50+ paintings, sculptures and assemblages, the exhibit features artists like Varnette Honeywood from Los Angeles, whose pieces appeared in Bill Coby’s private collection (before they were auctioned off) and on “The Cosby Show.” Also included are works by Alonzo Davis, another Los Angeles artist who opened one of the first galleries there where Black Artists could exhibit.

“Though [Davis] was from LA, he actually lived in Memphis for a decade,” said Sharp. “He was a dean at Memphis College of Art, and later opened the first gallery in New York owned and operated by black curators.”

Another featured artist is former NFL player, Ernie Barnes. His work is distinctive. Where have you seen one of his most popular paintings, Sugar Shack? On the end scene and credits of the hit show “Good Times.” His piece Saturday Night, Durham, North Carolina, 1974 is in this collection.

Memphis native James Little’s “The War Baby: The Triptych” is among more than 50 works featured in “Black Artists in America, From the Bicentennial to September 11” at the Dixon Gallery & Gardens, the final installment of a three-part series highlighting the impact and evolution of Black artists through 2011.

The exhibit features other artists with Memphis ties, including abstract painter James Little, who was raised in a segregated Memphis and attended Memphis Academy of Art (before it was Memphis College of Art). He later moved to New York, became a teacher and an internationally acclaimed fixture in the art world in 2022 when he was named a Whitney Biennial selected artist at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York.

Other artists like Romare Bearden, who had a Southern experience but lived up North, were featured in all three installments.

“During this period of time, he was a major figure,” said Sharp. “He wrote one of the first books on the history of African American art during a time when there were more Black academics, art teachers, more Black everything!”

Speaking of Black educators, Sharp said the head curator behind this tri-part series and Dixon’s partner in the arts is Earnestine Jenkins, Ph.D., an art history professor at the University of Memphis, who also earned a Master of Arts degree from Memphis State University (now UofM). “We began working with Dr. Jenkins in 2018,” he said.

Sharp explained that it takes a team of curators, registrars, counterparts at other museums, and more, about three years to assemble an exhibit like this. It came together quite seamlessly, he added. Each room conjured up more jaw-dropping “wows” than the one before it. Each piece worked with the others to tell the story of Black people and their collective experience during this time period.

One of the last artists about whom Sharp shared information was Bettye Saar, who will turn 100 years old this year. She’s been working in Los Angeles for 80 years and is finally getting her due. Her medium is collages or assemblages, and an incredible work of hers is on display. She’s married to an artist and has two daughters, also artists.

The exhibit catalogue bears some of these artists’ stories, among other scholarly information.

The exhibit, presented by the Joe Orgill Family Fund for Exhibitions, is culturally and colorfully rich. It is a must see and admission to the Dixon is free.

Visit https://www.dixon.org/ to learn more.

Fun Facts: An original James Little design lives in the flooring of the basketball court at Tom Lee Park, and he makes and mixes his own paint colors.

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Grief, Advocacy, and Education: A Counselor Reflects on Black Maternal Health

SAN DIEGO VOICE & VIEWPOINT — Last month healthcare leaders, birth workers, and community members gathered to honor the legacy of Charleston native Dr. Janell Green Smith, a nurse-midwife and doctor of nursing practice who died in January from childbirth complications. She had participated in more than 300 births and specialized in helping Black women give birth safely.

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1 week ago

March 24, 2026

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By Jennifer Porter Gore | Word-In-Black | San Diego Voice and Viewpoint

In 2024, the number of U.S. mothers who died as a result of pregnancy or childbirth dropped compared to 2023. But while slightly fewer Black mothers died that year, they still had three times the mortality rate of white women.

South Carolina’s rates of maternal deaths outpaced even the national rates. In fact, the state’s overall rate of maternal deaths between 2019 and 2023 was higher than all but eight states and the District of Columbia.

Last month healthcare leaders, birth workers, and community members gathered to honor the legacy of Charleston native Dr. Janell Green Smith, a nurse-midwife and doctor of nursing practice who died in January from childbirth complications. She had participated in more than 300 births and specialized in helping Black women give birth safely.

Her death shocked the community and her colleagues who are determined to address concerns about Black maternal health. The event also covered the importance of protecting mental health during grief and of men’s role in solving the maternal health crisis.

As both a therapist and a father, Lawrence Lovell, a licensed professional counselor and founder of Breakthrough Solutions, discussed ways the event’s attendees could process their grief over Green Smith’s death. He also shared ways male partners can advocate for women’s maternal health during pregnancy and childbirth.

Lovell spoke not just as a therapist but also as a father whose own family had briefly crossed paths with Green Smith. The event, he said, emerged organically from a moment of collective mourning.

Despite the grief, “it was still, like, a really beautiful event, a much-needed event, and it almost felt like we were all giving each other a collective family hug,” says Lovell.

His connection to Green Smith, Lovell says, was brief but meaningful during his wife’s pregnancy with their second child. Green Smith was practicing at the same birthing center where they had their child. She began practicing in Greenville a short time later.Even that short connection carried significance for Lovell, given the small number of Black maternal health professionals.

Lovell did not initially plan to become a mental health practitioner; he chose the career path after graduating from college, when someone suggested he consider psychology. His interest deepened when he noticed how few Black men work in mental health.

“Being Black man and playing football in college, there weren’t a lot of people that look like me talking about mental health,” says Lovell. “[I wanted] to give people that look like me an opportunity to work with someone that looks like them.”

Working with Expectant and New Parents

Lovell often counsels couples preparing for parenthood by, helping partners understand what a successful pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum recovery look like. That often means helping women manage postpartum depression.

As a man, Lovell says, it’s “humbling” that a woman “just trusts me enough to work with me through their pregnancy or their postpartum recovery.”

In his work, Lovell has noticed how few men understand pregnancy before they experience it with their partner. Because early pregnancy symptoms are often invisible, he says, men may underestimate how much support a mom-to-be actually needs.

“Sometimes they may not realize they don’t know much about pregnancy and what to expect in those three trimesters,” Lovell says. “I tell a lot of the men that just because you can’t see [she’s pregnant] doesn’t mean that she won’t appreciate your intense support in that first trimester.”

Education about pregnancy and postpartum recovery, he says, can change how men support their partners.

Teaching Advocacy in the Delivery Room

Another major focus of Lovell’s counseling is preparing men to advocate for mothers during labor.

“Helping men understand what pregnancy looks like: what delivery is going to look like, and what are the realistic expectations that I should have of myself in postpartum,” he says.

Lovell encourages partners to be honest about their expectations for what will happen during delivery. He helps them prepare for the big day by discussing the birth plan and knowing how to quickly recognize problems. Clear communication, he says, prevents misunderstandings.

He regularly trains men to ask their partners detailed questions about their expectations during and after pregnancy. Advocacy in medical settings can be especially important and requires attention to details the mother may not be able to address.

“It’s always important to fine-tune things and truly understand what helps your partner feel most supported,” Lovell says. “Instead of guessing, you should ask.”

Lovell recalls a moment during the birth of his first child when he had to take that role.

During the delivery, “I felt like something wasn’t as sanitary as I’d like it to be,” he says. “I asked, ‘Hey, can you switch those out? Can you change your gloves?’”

Lovell has a succinct but powerful message he regularly shares with clients’ families, and he shared it with attendees at last month’s event.

“Just to believe women,” he says. “I’ve worked with different couples, and sometimes I’m not really sure that there’s enough empathy from the men.”

That includes how women express pain.

“If a woman says, ‘my pain is at a nine,’ just because how you would express yourself at a nine is different than how she’s expressing herself at [that level] doesn’t mean you shouldn’t believe her,” he says.

Empathy, he says, can change outcomes far beyond the delivery room.

“We’ve got to believe women when they’re talking about their experiences and their feelings and their pain,” he says. “I think there’s a lot that we can prevent if we empathize better.”

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Future of Florida’s Black History Museum in Limbo

JACKSONVILLE FREE PRESS — A proposal sponsored by Tom Leek, a Republican from Ormond Beach, has now passed the Senate in back-to-back legislative sessions. But the House version, filed by Kiyan Michael, a Jacksonville Republican, did not receive final approval in either year, effectively stalling the effort.

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1 week ago

March 24, 2026

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Jacksonville Free Press

Plans to establish a long-awaited Black history museum in Florida are once again on hold after legislation needed to advance the project failed to clear the state House for a second consecutive year, despite repeated approval in the Senate.

A proposal sponsored by Tom Leek, a Republican from Ormond Beach, has now passed the Senate in back-to-back legislative sessions. But the House version, filed by Kiyan Michael, a Jacksonville Republican, did not receive final approval in either year, effectively stalling the effort.

Under Florida law, identical or similar bills must pass both chambers before heading to the governor’s desk. Without House approval, the legislation has been unable to move forward, leaving the project in limbo. Long journey, contested location.

The proposed museum, formally known as the Florida Museum of Black History, has been years in the making, with lawmakers and community leaders framing it as a long-overdue institution to preserve and showcase the state’s African American heritage .A central point of contention has been the museum’s location. St. Augustine — widely recognized as the nation’s oldest city and a site deeply tied to both slavery and early Black history — emerged as the leading contender. Supporters argue the city’s historical significance makes it a natural home for the museum. However, competing interests and regional considerations have fueled debate, slowing consensus among lawmakers.

While the Senate-backed measure has consistently advanced, the lack of alignment in the House has underscored ongoing divisions about how and where the project should take shape.

The holdup in the Florida House appears to be less about opposition to the museum itself and more about a combination of procedural bottlenecks, unresolved structural issues, and lingering disagreements over how the project should be formalized and governed.

Despite the legislative setbacks, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has publicly voiced support for the museum. Speaking last month during the unveiling of a statue of abolitionist Frederick Douglass in St. Augustine, DeSantis said the project would move forward “one way or another,” signaling an intent to see the museum built regardless of legislative hurdles.

The anticipated museum has already cleared several hurdles. St. Johns County signed an agreement last year with Florida Memorial University to use the land that once housed its campus last year’s legislative session netted $1 million in funding for St. Johns County to work on planning and design for the museum. However, its anticipated that a million $3 million is needed.

Still, without statutory approval to finalize key components — including governance, funding mechanisms and site selection — the project remains largely conceptual.
With the House bill failing again, the timeline for the museum’s development is unclear. Lawmakers could revisit the proposal in the next legislative session, but any further delays risk pushing the project back several more years. Advocates warn that continued inaction could stall momentum for a museum many see as critical to telling a fuller, more accurate story of Florida’s past. For now, the effort remains paused — caught between political support at the top and legislative gridlock within the Capitol.