30 African American Historic Sites Receive $3 Million in Preservation Funding

This year’s grantees are stewarding historic sites that represent Black American life through modern architecture, education, sports, and Black women’s achievement.

The Action Fund has supported 304 Black heritage sites with a total investment of $27M since 2018. 

Images of the 2024 grantees are available here.

WASHINGTON, July 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — The African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, today announced $3 million in grant funding to protect and preserve 30 sites representing Black history. With more than $140 million raised since its founding in 2017, the Action Fund is the largest resource dedicated to the preservation of African American historic places. 

“The National Grant Program represents the Action Fund’s enduring commitment to telling the full American story – one that makes room for Black resilience, creativity, and achievement,” said Brent Leggs, Executive Director of the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund. “History is crucial to our nation’s understanding of where we’ve come from, who we are today, and how we envision our future. These grants will support critical preservation efforts to revitalize and sustain tangible links to our shared past that we hope will inspire future generations.”

This work would not be possible without the Action Fund’s key philanthropic partners who share a commitment to social justice through preservation and education. The Mellon Foundation has been a longstanding supporter of the Action Fund and the National Grant Program, and several of this year’s grantees will be receiving the financial resources they need to complete capital projects, build organizational capacity, and more as a result of the Mellon Foundation’s contribution of $1.5 million.

“Preserving African American culture is central to preserving and understanding American culture writ large,” said Elizabeth Alexander, President of the Mellon Foundation. “This new suite of Action Fund grants will provide crucial financial and strategic support to sites that further illuminate the Black voices and visions that make up our shared American past. We at Mellon are pleased to support this effort to ensure that all of us can continue to learn and experience these essential histories in our public spaces.”

In addition to the Mellon Foundation, the Action Fund is grateful for the generous contributions of the Ford Foundation and the Robert D. L. Gardiner Foundation to the National Grant Program.

This year’s awardees include the second round of Conserving Black Modernism grants, a program designed to protect and promote the work of African American architects. These sites will receive $1.2 million in preservation funding through the Action Fund with support from the Getty Foundation.

“We’re thrilled to support a second iteration of grants for the Conserving Black Modernism program,” said Joan Weinstein, director of the Getty Foundation. “This program both expands our understanding of modernist architecture in the United States and celebrates the unique contributions of pioneering African American architects who have long been overlooked.”

With amounts ranging from $50K to $150K, this year’s Action Fund grants will support preservation efforts across four categories: 

Building Capital: Supporting the restoration and rehabilitation of cultural assets important to Black history

Increasing Organizational Capacity: Providing leadership staff positions within nonprofits stewarding Black heritage sites

Project Planning and Development: Funding planning activities tied to the development of preservation plans, feasibility studies, historic site reports, National Register designations, and fundraising

Programming and Education: Advancing storytelling through public education, exhibits, and creative interpretation

A site list including details about all of this year’s grantees, and a media kit with hi-res photographs, are available here.

About the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund

In November 2017, the National Trust for Historic Preservation launched its African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund (AACHAF) to make an important and lasting contribution to the American landscape by preserving sites of Black activism, achievement, and resilience. Since 2017, it has raised over $140 million and supported 304 grantees nationwide. The AACHAF’s work is guided by the Founding Executive Director, Brent Leggs, and an esteemed National Advisory Council that includes thought leaders in the arts, academia, business, government, philanthropy, and preservation.

Learn more about the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund at www.savingplaces.org/actionfund.

About the National Trust for Historic Preservation

The National Trust for Historic Preservation protects historic landscapes and buildings representing our country’s diverse cultural experience by taking direct action and inspiring broad public support. Chartered by Congress in 1949 as a privately funded organization and committed to honoring the histories of all Americans, the National Trust collaborates with partners and allies to save places, educate the public, and use preservation to address urgent challenges and serve communities today. 

Learn more about the National Trust for Historic Preservation at https://savingplaces.org/

Contact Information: [email protected]

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SOURCE National Trust for Historic Preservation