Florida Democratic stronghold rejects Stonewall Museum’s funding request

Broward County, Florida, is a Democratic stronghold. But that political identity has not protected one of its LGBTQ+ institutions from losing county support.

The county has rejected an application for a fiscal year 2027 operating grant from the Stonewall National Museum, Archives & Library in Fort Lauderdale, according to the museum, prompting its president and CEO to challenge local officials to defend organizations threatened by Florida’s restrictions on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

According to a news release from Robert Kesten, the museum’s president and CEO and a 2025 Out100 honoree, the museum learned of the rejection on Thursday. Kesten said the notification arrived just two hours after he issued an appeal in Stonewall’s newsletter to government officials. He urgently pleaded with them to stand up to pressure from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Republican-led Legislature.

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The denial comes ahead of a Florida law that takes effect January 1 and prohibits counties and municipalities from funding or promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. DeSantis signed the measure in April.

The county’s Cultural Division communicated the rejection, WLRN reported. The station also reported that commissioners budgeted approximately the same overall amount for cultural grants as in the previous fiscal year.

“As this calendar year comes to an end and before the draconian ‘Anti-DEI’ legislation goes into effect, we call upon every level of government to reinstate funding to every group and organization whose work and quality has earned support from the governments who are required (justly) by law to serve and meet the needs of the people,” Kesten wrote in a statement titled “We Are Citizens First.”

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“We call on these officials to do their job as instructed by the Constitution that starts with, ‘We the People’ and reminds us that they are in service to those very people to ensure life, liberty, and protect the inalienable rights of all Americans,” he wrote. “Distribute those funds and challenge the state in court, do not inflict devastating pain and suffering on people and organizations who have long served the communities you are sworn by oath to serve faithfully.”

The museum questioned both the timing of the notification and the explanation it received.

“The timing is extraordinary,” said a museum spokesperson in its news release. “But equally striking is the county’s explanation. Broward expressly states that the decision did not reflect the quality or impact of Stonewall’s work. Instead, it cited unspecified program requirements, funding considerations, and administrative and policy requirements, without clearly identifying why the museum was being denied funding.”

The news release said Broward County had provided Stonewall with $1,031,466 since January 2014. The museum argued that the county had not adequately explained why it rejected its latest application.

“Politicians do things to gain power; they seek the lowest-hanging fruit, cause division, and try to divide communities to create friction and weaken opposition,” Kesten told GayCities in an interview just days before the county’s decision. “Bad politicians will do anything to win an election, distort the truth, and use the system to their advantage no matter what damage they cause. The community has pushed back and will push back. My guess is there are a few things up our sleeve that will happen before the end of the year, and if those efforts succeed, we will move forward, or we will reinvent and start again. There is no room for defeat in this fight.”

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Stonewall Museum is not the only cultural institution affected. Island SPACE Caribbean Museum in Plantation also confirmed that Broward County rejected its funding proposal, according to WLRN.

The Stonewall Museum spokesperson described the broader implications as “chilling.”

“Across Florida and the nation, cultural institutions representing LGBTQ+ communities, racial and ethnic minorities, and other historically marginalized populations are confronting the loss of government and other support,” they wrote. “Even local officials who oppose these restrictions have publicly acknowledged that they are implementing them out of concern over state intervention.”

Kesten concluded his message to politicians in Stonewall’s newsletter with a plea: “We want to work with you; we want to know you are on the side of the people, justice and equality for all. We voted for you because we believe you are.”

The Advocate reached out to Broward County Mayor Mark Bogen for comment but had not received a response.