Rebecca Champlin

Museum Director Brenda Sanders-Wise gives tour to patron, Stefanie Jones.

Tarrant County has a museum that honors the history of its Black community. 

Part of the Historic Southside of Fort Worth, The Lenora Rolla Heritage Museum bursts with rich culture and historical facts. It has provided a service to the community for 48 years. A visit to this local landmark is engaging from beginning to end.  

A young docent greets you at the door, but the true experience begins with Brenda Sanders-Wise, the museum’s executive director, who conducts the tours.   

The tour starts in the Heritage Room where visitors are greeted with a colorful display of paintings, photos and wooden masks that cover the walls.

The tour then moves through four major rooms, each room paying homage to the people who helped build the Black community of Tarrant County.  

Sanders-Wise walks patrons through the museum as she recounts the history of the Black community in Tarrant County, as well as the stories of her familial roots.  

“I was born in the basement of Saint Joseph hospital, which is now John Peter Smith,” Sanders-Wise said.  

Black patients were forced to have many healthcare procedures done in that basement, separate from whites. There was only one Black surgeon for Black Tarrant County residents at that time, she explained.

She also told a story about selling pecans as a child.  

“We used to go pick pecans and sell them during Christmas time to have money for gifts,” she said. “We took them to the Ellis Pecan company. The KKK met at the top [of the building], and we never knew.”  

Much of the museum’s collection has been donated; they have over 200 boxes of culture in their archives.

Each photo has a story. The displays are powerful and impactful. Every painting is deeply rooted to Tarrant County and its Black community. Sanders-Wise was raised in it and relates her life’s experiences throughout the tour.  

Another story Sanders-Wise shares is about a swimming pool in Forest Park, Fort Worth.   

“We could only go to the Forest Park swimming pool once a year on June 19. When we would leave, they would drain the water, clean it and then refill,” said Sanders-Wise.  

She said they use that as a teaching moment for kids touring the museum, explaining how wasteful it was.  

Museum patron Stefanie Jones said she was deeply impacted by the tour.  

“My tour of the museum was not only historical and emotional, but culturally needed,” Jones said.  

She added that she plans to bring her family to the museum in the future.  

“I feel like Black history is American history, and we should all want to know as much as we can so when atrocity like this ever tries to represent itself, we will know how to defeat and destroy that type of hate,” Jones said.

According to Sander-Wise, the organization hosts other events.   

“The 12th Annual Lenora Rolla Juried Art Show will take place from Feb. 1 to March 16, 2025,” she said.  

They have an informative newsletter  you can subscribe to online that talks about upcoming events the organization hosts.   

Membership at different tier levels are offered. They help support the organization and give museum goers added benefits. 

The museum is open Mon. – Fri. from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.