Renderings unveiled for Fort Worth's National Juneteenth Museum

FORT WORTH, Texas - We’re getting a first look at what the National Juneteenth Museum will look like when it's built in Fort Worth.

The new details come just days ahead of the nation's second official Juneteenth commemoration.

The planned 50,000-square-foot museum is meant to tell the history of the holiday and the efforts by Fort Worth's Opal Lee to make it happen.

Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, the day Union soldiers told Black slaves in Galveston that they were free more than two years after Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. 

156 years later. President Joe Biden officially made that day a national holiday.

Dr. Gleniece Robinson sits on the board of the Juneteenth Museum.

"It’s about us as a country. It’s about all of us, and it’s about freedom," she said.

Lead designer Big-Bjarke Ingels Group and the Fort Worth-based KAI Enterprises joined forces on the project.

The gabled rooftops will be a nod to the historic neighborhood. The nova star represents a new future for African Americans. The majestic glass windows signify that everyone is welcome.

Robinson says all of it is thanks to Miss Opal Lee.

Known as the Godmother of Juneteenth and now 95 years old, Lee has walked countless miles in both Fort Worth and Washington D.C. while pushing for Juneteenth to become a national holiday.

FOX 4 has spoken with her many times, though she wasn't available for interviews on Wednesday.

Lee has her own Juneteenth story from back in the 1930s when a white mob burned down her family’s Fort Worth home when she was just 12 years old.

Lee’s story is one of many to be featured in an interactive timeline in the museum where the visitors can explore each state's connection to Juneteenth.

"So it helps you to put yourself as a part of the story. It’s not isolated," Robinson said.

It's slated to open in Fort Worth in 2025.