Recently, the Washington D.C. city council voted to make Go-Go the official musical genre of the city, and now, the city will soon be home to a museum dedicated to the genre.
Community member Ronald Moten and Check It Enterprise Culture Center, an organization committed to creating safe spaces for LGBTQ youth, collaborated to create the museum and raise $70,000 towards the project. Located in the Anacostia neighborhood, the museum will include a cafe, an outdoor garden, and a performance space. The cafe was recently completed with help from a D.C Economic Development grant and will open following inspection.The founders have started a gofundme campaign to raise $25,000 more to complete the rest of the museum with the goal of opening in Spring 2020.
On the campaign page, founders describe the mission of the museum as “showcasing the hard work and achievements of the past heroes and living legends of Go-Go Music and culture.” The museum will also feature D.C’s first cultural tourism workforce training and placement program. The program will focus on providing resources for the LGBTQ community and formerly incarcerated citizens.