Just one day after Baton Rouge gathered to celebrate the reopening of the Baton Rouge African American Museum, the downtown institution was burglarized and two boxes of artifacts collected by the late Sadie Roberts-Joseph were stolen, according to her son and museum curator Jason Roberts.
Roberts said the burglary happened sometime after 5 p.m. Saturday, after he left the museum. According to Roberts, someone came onto the property, went to a rear storage structure, pulled an air conditioner out of a window, climbed inside and took two boxes containing artifacts, along with some fixtures and other museum-related items.
But Roberts said the fixtures are not what concerns him.
“The boxes of artifacts are missing,” Roberts said.
The burglary came almost immediately after what was supposed to be a celebratory new chapter for the museum, which reopened in its new downtown home on Juneteenth after years of work by Roberts-Joseph’s family and supporters to carry forward her vision.
Roberts-Joseph founded the museum in 2001 as a place to preserve, teach and celebrate African American history in Baton Rouge. After her death in 2019, the museum’s future became part of the broader question of how the city would remember not only Roberts-Joseph herself, but the institution she spent years building.
The reopening was meant to answer that question with something tangible: a restored museum, a renewed public mission and a permanent space for Black history in the heart of Baton Rouge.
Then, less than 24 hours later, Roberts said, someone took part of that history.
Roberts said the museum is still trying to determine exactly which artifacts were inside the stolen boxes. In the rush to prepare for the reopening, he said, some items had been temporarily moved into the rear storage structure before they could be placed in their proper storage area.
“We don’t exactly know what was in those boxes as of yet,” Roberts said, explaining that the final push to get the museum ready involved moving items quickly. “I just put a couple boxes in there, thinking I could take them out and get them into the correct storage place.”
The boxes, Roberts said, were open-top, meaning whoever took them could see artifacts sitting inside.
Roberts said there was no damage to the actual museum building, though it appeared someone may have checked several windows before entering the rear structure. He said the windows were locked, and the museum did not have surveillance footage of the burglary.
Roberts said he filed a police report with the Baton Rouge Police Department. The Bayou Progressive requested information from BRPD about the reported burglary, including whether any suspects have been identified and whether police have confirmed what was taken. The department had not responded by publication.
The Bayou Progressive also contacted the East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney’s Office for comment. The office had not responded by publication.
Roberts said the incident had reached officials beyond the initial police report, including District Attorney Hillar Moore, the Baton Rouge police chief and the mayor’s office. He said officials were expected to work with the museum to help resolve the situation.
For the museum staff and family members who spent years working toward the reopening, Roberts said the burglary has been painful.
“Everyone involved is just heartbroken,” Roberts said. “We put in a lot of work and a lot of late nights and blood, sweat, and tears, literally, to getting this museum ready to present to the public. And for this to happen is just heartbreaking.”
Still, Roberts said the museum intends to move forward. He said the family and museum team plan to secure and fortify the building to prevent a similar incident from happening again.
“We’ve determined, though, that we’re going to continue forward,” Roberts said. “We’re going to make sure that the building is secure and fortified, and that we don’t have this issue in the future.”
The Baton Rouge Branch of the NAACP called the burglary a painful moment for the community.
“We were saddened to hear that the African American museum was burglarized,” said Rebecca Perloff, president of the NAACP Baton Rouge Branch. “It is painful any time a place dedicated to preserving our history, culture, and community is violated.”
Perloff said the branch appreciates law enforcement looking into the matter and hopes the investigation brings clarity about what happened.
“More than anything, our thoughts are with the museum staff, supporters, and the community members who care deeply about what this institution represents,” Perloff said.
She also urged the community to support the museum’s work.
“These spaces are important because they help tell our story and preserve our memory,” Perloff said. “We hope the community will rally around the museum and support its continued work.”
That support will matter. The burglary was not simply a blow to a building or a nonprofit. It struck an institution built to preserve Black history in a city that too often celebrates that history ceremonially while leaving the people and places responsible for preserving it to fight for survival.
For Roberts, the stolen artifacts are not just old items from storage. They are pieces his mother collected over years so the museum could use them to educate the public.
“It’s very unsettling,” Roberts said. “These things are items that my mom collected over years to be able to share them with the public, to use them to teach, to educate the public on Black history.”
For someone to take them, he said, is difficult to process.
“It’s unthinkable,” Roberts said.
The museum’s reopening was intended to mark the continuation of Sadie Roberts-Joseph’s work. The burglary has now added another painful chapter to that story.
But Roberts made clear that the museum’s work will continue.
The artifacts were taken. The mission was not.