The historic San Juan Hotel in San Juan, Texas, is being considered for transformation into a Civil Rights Museum. Stephanie Alvarez, a Mexican American Studies professor and San Juan resident, is advocating for the preservation of the hotel and the creation of a museum to showcase the city's rich civil rights history. Alvarez highlights San Juan's role in the underground railroad and the farm worker movement, emphasizing the importance of preserving this history and educating the community. She suggests that there are already curated exhibits and historical artifacts that can be included in the museum. The San Juan leaders are currently considering demolishing the hotel and replacing it with a downtown conference center, but Alvarez believes that engaging in a conversation with local residents can lead to great ideas for the hotel's future [7fc8d500].
In St. Augustine, Florida, the St. Augustine Beach Hotel has received a $750,000 grant from the African American Civil Rights grant program for restoration as a civil rights landmark. The hotel played a significant role in the civil rights movement as the site of wade-in protests against segregated beaches in the 1960s. It was recently added to the National Register of Historic Places. The grant will be used to restore the beachfront building and create additional classroom space and artist studios on the second floor. The National Parks Service recognized the hotel's demonstrations as instrumental in the passage of the national Civil Rights Act. This grant is part of a larger initiative by the National Parks Service, which awarded a total of $23.4 million to various historic restorations and projects related to the Civil Rights Movement [19879510][211a7b06].