STL Black History wax museum gets SLDC North City Grant amid investigation

ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis Development Corporation’s (SLDC) North St. Louis Grant Program is now under investigation by Missouri State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick, which could potentially lead to a full state audit. This comes amid ongoing scrutiny of SLDC’s vetting process for awarding grants, a topic 5 on Your Side has covered in previous reports.

In response to the investigation, Deion Broxton, SLDC’s Vice President of Communications & Public Affairs, issued a statement. It reads in full, “As always, the City of St. Louis welcomes any audit. Last year, SLDC initiated a third-party audit that stated the north city grant program application process is largely fair, consistent, and meets all federal guidelines and local requirements.”

Despite the announcement of the auditor’s investigation, SLDC tells our reporter they are moving forward with plans for a meeting scheduled for Feb. 20, where more businesses will be considered for grants under the North City Grant Program.

Before the announcement of the state auditor’s investigation, 5 on Your Side went to meet with SLDC and the Griot Museum of Black History to discuss the grant program, and how one grant award will be used at the Griot.

5 on Your Side took you into the Griot Museum of Black History in 2022. This cultural staple in St. Louis is known for its wax figures of prominent Black historical figures. We followed up with the museum in 2025, after we learned the group had been approved to receive a $500,000 grant under SLDC’s North St. Louis Grant Program. 

Lois Conley, the museum’s executive director, shared how the grant funds will be used to maintain the museum’s building, which has become a piece of history in itself.

“The Griot holds Black history and is Black history,” Conley said. She said the museum has stayed open for decades thanks to the dedication of staff and operating on a tight budget. 

“Some of the things we did at the beginning were done on a shoestring budget,” Conley said. “I invested personal money but also worked for most of those 30 years I’ve been here without pay.”

Conley, who has been running the museum for three decades, even crafted some of the wax figures herself, including statues of historic figures like Clara Brown and Madam Walker. 

“They are terribly expensive for the really good ones,” she said. “For me, it was just seeing what the needs are and then figuring out what I could do to make it happen.”

Conley said a $500,000 grant from the North City Grant Program will go toward much-needed repairs and upgrades to the Griot Museum’s aging infrastructure. 

“We need to update our fire suppression system, our HVAC system, and our elevators—things like that,” Conley said.

The North City Grant Program has access to $30 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds to distribute to local businesses and to revitalize North St. Louis. The program has faced months of criticism and public scrutiny, with concerns raised about its grant approval process. Some have questioned the fairness and transparency of how grants were awarded. 5 on Your Side has previously reported on the controversy surrounding the program. 

Before the announcement of the state auditor’s investigation, 5 on Your Side met with SLDC CEO Neal Richardson to discuss the Griot’s grant award and to ask where the North City Grant Program funding and vetting process stands currently. 

When our news team asked what is being done ensure the grant funding is awarded in a fair and transparent manner. Richardson noted that a third-party audit looked into the grant pre-approval process in November and December of 2024. 

Richardson tells our 5 on Your Side team, the auditor found “… our processes and procedures, everything that we had in place for the pre-approval process was legal and above board. So it met the treasury guidelines on a federal level. It met the local ordinances and our agreement between the Community Development Association and SLDC. ” 

“This is not SLDC saying we got everything right,” Richardson also said. “This is us going out to a third party that has experience with monitoring federal programs and that came in and gave us a clearing bill of health and said everything was done legally.” 

He adds that the third-party auditor did give suggestions on how the program could “improve processes and programs moving forward”. 

Richardson said the pre-approval phase ended in December 2024. The next phase, he said, is the vetting process for businesses that have applied for the funds. Richardson said the ARPA funding for the North City Grant Program must be spent by the end of 2026.

When our reporter asked which suggestions the third-party auditor provided,  Richardson said, “It was, again, ensuring we had an internal compliance team that was reviewing all of the information, ensuring we have a clear, documented process that can be shared with the public as well and to think about future programs. If SLDC was to ever be awarded this type of funding again, ways in which we can be more equitable in the process, criteria we can implement in order for us to ensure we’re creating a just program.” 

SLDC has a ‘transparency portal’ on its website to share information about the grant awards. 

Richardson went on to say “… We all understand, though, going back and restarting the entire process is just not feasible. We use this as a learning experience moving forward, recognizing this is the first time we have invested dollars into North St. Louis City in this way…” 

During the interview Richardson also highlighted the importance of the Griot Museum. 

“The Griot does a tremendous job of celebrating that history and sharing it with the younger generations so they can be proud of their city, of their culture, of their heritage,” he said.

As for Lois Conley at the Griot Museum, she continues to dream big for the museum’s future. If funds were unlimited, she envisions adding amenities like parking lots, restaurants, artist studios, and new roads to enhance the surrounding area.