NEW YORK CITY — The National LGBT Museum has chosen New York City as its permanent host city and elected a North Carolina native as its board co-chair.
The museum, founded by Tim Gold, husband of North Carolina furniture maker and philanthropist Mitchell Gold, announced April 29 that it had chosen the Big Apple as the location of its forthcoming museum facility. The museum, Gold said, examined a number of possible sites and held meetings with elected officials and LGBT community leaders.
“[New York City] is both the site of many pivotal events in the history of the U.S. LGBT civil rights movement as well as a top destination worldwide for LGBT tourists. We are excited about siting the museum in this great world city,” Gold said in a release.
The group also announced that Kevin Jennings had been elected as its board co-chair.
“A New York City resident, a historian by training, and a long-time leader in the LGBT movement, Kevin is the perfect partner to help lead the effort to establish this museum in New York City,” Gold said.
Jennings is a native of Winston-Salem, N.C. He is the founder of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, currently serves as executive director of the Arcus Foundation and served as assistant deputy secretary for the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools at the U.S. Department of Education from July 2009-June 2011.
“I am honored to join Tim and the Board in this important work,” Jennings said in the release. “Tim and the Board have done significant work in envisioning what a national LGBT museum might look like and I am excited to join them in helping turn that vision into a reality.”
The museum said it will now work to identify funding sources, staff and a physical location in the city. The group wants the museum to be open in time for the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots in June 2019.
Learn more at nationallgbtmuseum.org.