June 19 Museum, Inc. was founded to develop world class tourist destinations dedicated to the Juneteenth Holiday. This round of funding is to acquire The Custom House, in Galveston Texas which is recognized as a Birthplace of Juneteenth; where on June 19, 1865, U.S. Major General Gordon Granger and 2000 federal army troops announced the emancipation of slavery.

The Custom House – Juneteenth Museum Hotel is in the commercial center of downtown Galveston and a short walk from the historic Strand area, which features retail shops, restaurants and more.

A market study completed by the Travel Industry Association of America noted an increase in travelers’ desire to experience cultural, arts, historic and heritage activities. The study revealed that 81% of travelers who took a trip away from home included at least one cultural, arts, historic or heritage activity during their trip.

In addition, tourists and destination travelers are increasingly looking for hotels and places to stay that modern, sophisticated properties don’t have – a past. Guests that stay in historic hotels generally seek a sense of place and an alternative to “cookie- cutter” lodging experiences. These are guests that are seeking to enhance their journey.

Even buildings that lack hospitality roots are attractive lodging options. The push for redevelopment and preservation is driving conversion of many old structures into “historically-interesting” hotels.

Data collected by Historical Hotels of America supports this latter point. It reports2 that despite a softer outlook for the broader U.S. lodging industry, RevPAR will be impacted less by historical hotels and is showing relatively stronger performance than other segments of the industry. It showed that RevPar for is averaging more than $170, between ranges for upper-upscale and luxury, and has, in the past several years, shown stronger growth “compared to comparable contemporary hotels.”

The data indicates that historic hotels are generally not budget-oriented properties. Travelers and guests interested in historic hotels are generally more affluent; they seek to make their hotel stay a memorable part of an overall vacation experience.

We believe the June 19 Museum property and museum represents a unique value proposition to guests in the Galveston area and beyond:

• Historically significant property that tells a powerful story about a key moment and era in American History and the social justice movement;
• Diversified business plan and multiple revenue streams in addition to plans for June 19 Museum which will be a national attraction;
• Our team members, and Douglas Matthews in particular, have strong ties to the Galveston Juneteenth Celebration; and
• Commitment to giving back to affiliated causes consistent with the values of June 19 Museum, Inc.

The Boutique Hotel

The boutique hotel will feature well-appointed rooms decorated with traditional colors to bring out the buildings historic design. Luxury within a historic setting where anyone can come and celebrate Juneteenth heritage. The Custom House offers a perfect setting for business, pleasure, and relaxation. Private viewing times for guests to explore historic African American exhibits. Rooms will feature personal accompaniments and be stocked with premium liquors & craft beers.

Custom House Juneteenth Museum

We are establishing the Custom House Juneteenth Museum to provide world-class exhibits, a learning center, community outreach and education, job creation of museum staff and cultural and historical preservation.

The museum will develop and facilitate activities principally to commemorate the Juneteenth but will also develop and facilitate activities that celebrate global diversity and inclusion through the stories and historical significance of Juneteenth. Our collections leverage modern technology to enrich, engage, and inspire communities through insight, visualizations, and interaction.

Grand Opening

Assuming a timely closing of our current capitalization initiatives, the Grand Opening of both the hotel property, its food and beverage facilities and the Custom House Juneteenth Museum is being planned for May 2022, just in time for the Annual Galveston, Texas City

Celebration of the Juneteenth Holiday

The museum will have a dedication ceremony followed by a summer of special events. Programs from our organizers 2021 Juneteenth events held this year are attached.

Digital Art Gallery

Each year, The Custom House – Juneteenth Museum will unveil a collection of original digital artworks by young and well established African American Artists. The digital collection will be reflective of the Juneteenth Museum mission and creative theme for the year. Selected pieces will be included a private auction with an “Unknown” Estimated value.

The museum will maintain a perpetual right to use the image and display a certified true copy and to leverage the image for unrestricted use. Some of the digital displays will be permanent, while others will be replaced on a regular cycle to be determined by the administration.

African American – Hall of Freedom

One of the prominent exhibits planned for the museum is an interactive Hall of Freedom where visitors can experience the social, political, and economic changes impacting civil liberties of all. The Hall of Freedom will highlight key moments in African American History on an interactive timeline that will allow visitors to engage in impactful experiences.

Items planned for display include sculptures, artwork, letters, books, and other objects of significance. Several exhibits will allow visitors to explore artifacts and media content from their mobile devices.

The museum staff (paid and volunteers) will include a team of designers and engineers to ensure exhibits not only preserving cultural and historic value. A decision on what to exhibit will be aligned with the mission and strategic plans, market demand and relevancy and, of course, budget.

Interactive exhibits create unique experiences by incorporating content that can be connected to mobile devices, 3D glasses, touch screen displays, video walls, hologram projections and other technologies. Digital content and displays are becoming increasing popular for not only their educational value, but entertainment is also a key consideration. Cost is a factor when planning for a high density of interactive exhibits can have a multiplier of 5 times that of traditional artwork. For example, space allocated to display traditional artwork $75 per square foot including graphics, whereas an interactive exhibition may exceed $500 per square foot.

Learning Center

The Museum will offer self-guided tours and exhibits. Interactive exhibits can create curated experiences and truly unique guest experiences. This will be especially impactful to accommodate groups coming from a K-12 setting as well as scholars participating in graduate studies and professional level. The Learning Center will sponsor a Club dedicated to the discovery and research into artifacts and objects that have cultural and historical significance as well as the stories that make them unique.

The learning services provided by Juneteenth Museum will work closely with regional schools and other institutions to develop K-12 programs that surrounding art, history, and culture of African American Heritage. The foundation will also collaborate with Historic Black University (HBU) to develop online contentment to cultivate a better global understanding of the significance of Juneteenth. The museum is exploring the development of a scholarship program in partnership with other organizations within the Galveston, Texas community.

Museum Events

The Custom House property features more than 2,000 dedicated square feet allocated to art-filled exhibition and additional event space, indoor and outdoor, that can accommodate a broad range of needs, from school retreats, executive meetings, cocktail gatherings, charitable events and more.

Jubilee Restaurant and Bar 19

The Juneteenth dining experience that embraces exceptional cuisine, presentation, quality, and the overall experience, not just the food. It is worth more than one visit, and each time you’ll want to share that you did it.

Jubilee Events

The city of Galveston in known for events, and the Custom House – Juneteenth Museum experience will reflect a robust experience and offer events inspired by Galveston business as well as domestic and international arts organizations. Our calendar will showcase monthly virtual and live performances as well as several annual events you won’t want to miss. The Custom House is also a great location for weddings, corporate events, other private functions.

June 19 Store – Custom House and Online Retail

We will open a brick-and-mortar store in the Custom House which, in addition to conventional hotel amenities, will feature artwork, gifts, soft goods and other collectible items associated with the Juneteenth Museum. In addition, we will launch and host an online store that will carry more significant inventory and a broader set of themed products consistent with the Custom House brand and charter, for consumers on a global basis.

The June 19 Store will be a unique retail offering featuring an activity space and immersive digital content to connect with the Juneteenth in a meaningful way. Tourists visiting Galveston, Texas will find the June 19 Store difficult to miss, a go to spot for Juneteenth memorabilia that cannot be found elsewhere. On select weekends the store will feature live and streaming performing artists and host a variety events such as book signings and youth activities. It’s our way of sharing the Juneteenth experience with those visiting locally and beyond, we ship in USA and international.

Charities to Support

A cornerstone to our mission is to give back in support of building greater awareness of the history and importance of Juneteenth in the American archive, in addition to civic and social justice more broadly. We are donating a portion of quarterly gross revenues to organizations dedicated to reform, including the high- impact nonprofits below. We intend to support these organization and organizations that share values of civic and social justice that are consistent with remembrance of, and respect for Juneteenth. These are values we share in the fight for equity, equality, and social justice, work to end racism, and strive for a better world.

Step Plan – 2021

Convertible Note Offering (Seed Round) – August, 2021

Purchase Property – September, 2021

Series A Round – October, 2021

Commence Staffing Process – December, 2021

Step Plan – 2022

Open Property – Hotel, Restaurant, Bistro, On and Offline Shops, Museum – May, 2022

Commence Onsite Event Marketing – June, 2022

Bi-Annual Gala / Auctions – June, 2022 & December, 2022

The Custom House – Juneteenth Museum advisory board is composed of committee experts in relevant verticals including community development, historic preservation, museum and hotel operations, retail, outreach and education, collection management, marketing, fundraising, tourism, cultural exchange

Mark Judson

CEO at Environmental Monitoring Sensor Intelligence Corp., brings extensive experience and expertise with Business Strategy, Marketing and Operations. He has played a critical role supporting federal, state, and local initiatives focused on historic preservations, collection archiving and retrieval, facility management and developing federal government programs that create a significant cultural and socio-economic impact.

Dr. Inna Baron

Advisor specializing in cultural studies and academic outreach. She is a senior strategist at the non-profit MITRE Corporation specializing in strategy development and organizational change. She is a graduate of Harvard University Kennedy School of Government and holds a Ph.D. in cultural studies from Harvard University. Inna brings 25 years of experience spanning federal government consulting, cultural, and socio- economic studies.

James F. Garrett

Founder and CEO of Sentel Corp., (listed 82 on Black Enterprise’s Industrial/Service 100 list). Mr. Garrett has won numerous awards for his innovative technology, ability to find solutions to highly complex problems, client-driven commitment, and team concept for getting the job done. One of eight siblings, Garrett was born in Reidsville, N.C. He learned about the “real world” working beside his mother and stepfather as sharecropper in North Carolina tobacco fields. Young Garrett’s journey to entrepreneurship began in those fields and continues to this day.

Kevin Jackson

American business executive and writer. He served in the US Navy for fifteen years, before becoming a senior business executive in the computer industry. Jackson is currently the CEO & Founder, GovCloud Network, a consultancy formed to assist agencies and businesses leverage the parallel and global nature of cloud computing. Jackson co-produced the interactive experience Black Wings – A Chronicle of African Americans in Aviation, in conjunction with the Smithsonian Institution.

Douglas Matthews

Douglas has been involved with Galveston Juneteenth Celebration activities since June 19, 1980, when he served as Galveston Assistant City Manager, celebrating with Texas State Representative Al Edwards at Galveston’s Ashton Villa which started the Juneteenth Texas State Holiday celebration. He has continued to assist with the Juneteenth celebration when he became Galveston city manager and with The University of Texas Medical Branch. In addition, he has been serving as the Master of ceremony the Juneteenth Proclamation Program at Ashton Villa on June 19th for the past 24 years drawing large crowds each year. In 2006 while serving as Chairman of the Texas Juneteenth Advisory Committee, he helped lead the construction and installation of the Juneteenth Lawmaker Statue that was installed by the State of Texas honoring State Representative Al Ed wards. In 2015, which celebrated the 150th Anniversary of Juneteenth, the Galveston City Council passed a resolution honoring Douglas Matthews’ Juneteenth work.

• June 19 Museum Investor Brief
• June 19 Museum Investor Deck