The Woodson African American Museum of Florida gets a $1 million donation

ST. PETERSBURG — The Woodson African American Museum of Florida kicked off Black History Month by receiving a donation that will help with its mission to tell Black history.

On Monday at a press conference outside St. Petersburg City Hall, the museum announced that it had received $1 million from the Milkey Family Foundation.

According to a museum media release, this was part of The Woodson’s Invest in Black History Month Campaign, which challenges the community to join the commitment to raise $27 million to build and operate a new 30,000-square-foot facility on more than 5 acres of city-donated land along 22nd Street S in the St. Petersburg neighborhood known as The Deuces.

The Woodson is currently located in a 4,000-square-foot facility at 2240 Ninth Ave. S. in St. Petersburg.

Kevin and Jeanne Milkey, who own Grand Central Brewhouse, started the Milkey Family Foundation to “further their charitable giving to the community,” according to the media release.

“The donation by Milkey Family Foundation is the largest private gift received to date,” the release said. “This comes in addition to $1.2 million given by the City of St. Petersburg ... In addition to these significant gifts, many other donors and corporations have stepped forward to support the expansion of The Woodson.”