News Release

National Park Service awards $15 million to help preserve African American civil rights history

A three story building on an empty street with a tree on the left side.
Headquarters of the Detroit Urban League and former residence of Mr. Albert Kahn at 208 Mack Avenue.

Photo by Albert Kahn Associates.

News Release Date: July 27, 2021

Contact: NewsMedia@nps.gov

WASHINGTON – The National Park Service’s African American Civil Rights Grant Program has awarded $15,035,000 million to 53 projects in 20 states to help preserve sites and history related to the African American struggle for equality.

“This competitive grant program is just one of the many ways the National Park Service is working to preserve and interpret the lesser-known facets of our nation’s shared history,” said NPS Deputy Director Shawn Benge. “From physical restoration projects to surveys, documentation, and education, this years’ grant funds will help many of our State, Tribal, local, and non-profit partners advance their preservation goals.”

This years’ grant funds will be used to help preserve Harriet Beecher Stowe’s house in Ohio, the All Star Bowling Lanes in South Carolina (which was recently added to the African American Civil Rights Network), a civil rights interpretive trail in Louisiana, and research Gilbert v. Board in Cocoa, FL, a pioneering case for civil rights that helped gain equal pay for Black teachers in Florida.Visit NPS.gov to learn more about the African American Civil Rights Grant Program, how to apply and dates for upcoming grant opportunities. Over $16 million in FY2021 funding will be available for application in Fall 2021.

2020 African American Civil Rights Grants

State

Project Title

Legal Name

Federal Amount

Alabama Birmingham

Preservation, Restoration and Repair of St Paul United Methodist Church

St Paul United Methodist Church

$500,000

Alabama Birmingham

Preservation & Rehabilitation of the 16th Street Baptist Church Parsonage

Sixteenth Street Baptist Church

 $500,000            

Alabama Lowndesboro

Restoration and preservation of the historic Lowndesboro School

The Elmore Bolling Foundation

$236,313

Alabama Marion

Phase II Structural Repairs, Windows Restoration and Building Systems Replacement of the Historic Lincoln Normal School Gymnasium

Lincolnite Club, Inc.

$500,000

Alabama Montgomery

Freedom Rides Museum Exterior Exhibit and Window Displays

Alabama Historical Commission

 $50,000

Alabama Montgomery

Moore Building Rehabilitation, Phase III

Alabama Historical Commission

 $500,000

Alabama Selma

Voting Rights Movement Education Project: Engaging history through digital and physical educational resources

Selma Center For Non-Violence, Truth And Reconciliation

 $50,000

Alabama Selma

Critical Complete Re-Roofing of Gabled and Domed Roofs

Historic Tabernacle Baptist Church Selma AL Legacy Foundation Inc

 $500,000

Arkansas Little Rock

Have you learned your lesson yet? The legal battle for the equalization of black and white teacher salaries in the Little Rock School District.

Mosaic Templars Cultural Center

 $25,000

ArkansasLittle Rock

Restoring Historic Function and Character-Defining Elements in the Dreamland Ballroom

Friends of Dreamland

 $498,000

Colorado Greeley

Rehabilitation at the African-American Townsite of Dearfield, Colorado

University of Northern Colorado

 $497,776

Connecticut Salisbury

Clinton Church Restoration and Stabilization

Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area, Inc.

 $495,322

Florida Cocoa

Historical Research and Documentation of the Civil Rights Case Gilbert v. Board of Public Instruction of Brevard County, Florida

City of Cocoa

 $30,000

FloridaTallahassee

African American Education in Leon County-Power from Within

John Gilmore Riley Center/Museum Inc.

 $50,000

Florida Havana

Rehabilitation of Havana Florida's Historic Northside High School

Havana Community Development Corporation

 $499,994

Georgia Atlanta

Restoration of the Historic West Hunter Street Baptist Church Phase 4

Ralph David Abernathy III Foundation, Inc.

 $499,916

Illinois Chicago

Reactivating the Forum: Preservation of 3 linked buildings in Bronzeville

Urban Juncture Foundation

$500,000

Illinois Rock Island

Rock Island Survey and Research Project

City of Rock Island

 $33,500

Indiana Indianapolis

Emmett Tills Journey Home: A Story of Racism that Shocked a Nation Exhibit

The Children's Museum of Indianapolis, Inc.

 $50,000

Kentucky Louisville

Jefferson Jacob (Rosenwald) School Restoration

Jacob School Heritage Inc

 $188,000

Louisiana Baton Rouge

Louisiana Civil Rights Trail

Louisiana Office of Tourism

 $50,000

Louisiana Bogalusa

Preservation and restoration of the Hicks House and Mill House, Phase 2

Robert Bob Hicks Foundation

 $312,248

Massachusetts Salem

The African American Experience in the Essex National Heritage Area

Essex National Heritage Commission

 $50,000

Michigan Lansing

Russell Woods - Sullivan Neighborhood National Register District Nomination

Michigan Historic Preservation Network

 $49,900

Michigan Lansing

African American Housing in Inkster, Michigan 1920-1970

Michigan Strategic Fund

 $50,000

Michigan Detroit

Second Baptist Church of Detroit Rehabilitation and Nomination Project

Greektown Neighborhood Partnership

 $425,959

Michigan Detroit

Restoration of the Detroit Urban League Headquarters / Historic Albert Kahn House

Detroit Urban League

 $500,000

Michigan Inkster

Restoration and Preservation of Malcolm X House (aka Wilfred and Ruth Little home)

Project We Hope Dream and Believe

 $380,850

Mississippi Jackson

Mississippi Freedom Houses Project

Mississippi Heritage Trust Incorporated

 $50,000

North Carolina Greensboro

Survey and Nomination of Civil Rights in Greensboro

City of Greensboro

 $40,000

North Carolina Greensboro

Historic Magnolia House AR Interpretive Project

Magnolia House Foundation INC

 $23,399

North Carolina Durham

Preservation of Historic Hayti Heritage Center: Pew Restoration

St. Josephs Historic Foundation, Inc.

 $177,011

North Carolina Salisbury

Preservation of Historic Monroe Street School Phase II

Livingstone College

 $500,000

North Carolina Asheville

Renovation of YMI Cultural Center

YMI Cultural Center Inc.

 $496,957

New York Port Washington

Breaking Down Barriers: Civil Rights Movement on Long Island cell phone tour

Long Island Traditions

 $25,000

New York Newburgh

Oral History of African American Civil Rights in Newburgh

City of Newburgh

 $50,000

Ohio Cleveland

Stabilizing the Exterior Envelope of Cory United Methodist Church

Cleveland Restoration Society

 $500,000

Ohio Columbus

Harriet Beecher Stowe House Preservation

Ohio Historical Society

 $380,000

Ohio Dayton

Linden Community and Recreation Center

Gem City Hilltop Community Development and Housing Inc.

 $498,030

OhioDayton

Fifth Street YMCA

Miami Valley Housing Opportunities Inc.

$ 53,930

Pennsylvania Pittsburgh

A Legacy in Stone: Homewoods National Negro Opera House and the Confluence of Pittsburghs African American Culture

Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation

 $41,378

South Carolina Edisto Island

Historic Hutchinson House Final Phase of Restoration

Edisto Island Open Land Trust, Inc.

 $171,512

South Carolina Hilton Head Island

Three Properties, Three Lenses: Reconnecting with Critical Aspects of the African American Struggle for and Achievement of Civil Rights During the Reconstruction Era

Community Foundation of the Lowcountry, Inc.

 $487,088

South Carolina Orangeburg

Preservation and Repair of Historic Trinity United Methodist Church: Phase III

Trinity United Methodist Church

 $500,000

South Carolina West Columbia

Brookland Lakeview Empowerment Center (BLEC) - Roof Replacement Project

Brookland Center for Community Economic Change

 $321,226

South Carolina Orangeburg

Preservation of All-Star Bowling Lanes

Center for Creative Partnerships

 $500,000

South Carolina Columbia

Booker T. Washington High School Auditorium Building

University of South Carolina

 $500,000

South CarolinaSumter

Lincoln High School Civil Rights Preservation Project

Lincoln High School Preservation Alumni Association

$500,000

Tennessee Nashville

Civil Rights Related Resources in Nashville, 1944-1966

Metropolitan Historical Commission

 $50,000

Tennessee Memphis

Collins Chapel Structural Evaluation

Collins Chapel Christian Methodist Episcopal Church

 $45,000

Virginia Gordonsville

Restoration of St. John Rosenwald School Phase III Project

St. John Family Life and Fitness Center, Inc.

 $103,500

VirginiaKing George

Ralph Bunche High School Preservation - Phase One (roof replacement)

King George County

 $500,000

Virginia Lynchburg

Leonard N. Smith School of Religion (Humbles House)

Virginia University of Lynchburg

 $498,191


The Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) uses revenue from federal oil leases on the Outer Continental Shelf, assisting with a broad range of preservation projects without expending tax dollars to mitigate the loss of a nonrenewable resource by benefitting the preservation of other irreplaceable resources.

Established in 1977, the HPF is authorized at $150 million per year through 2023 and has provided more than $2 billion in historic preservation grants to States, Tribes, local governments, and nonprofit organizations. Administered by the NPS, HPF funds are appropriated annually by Congress to support a variety of historic preservation projects to help preserve the nation’s cultural resources.

For more information about NPS historic preservation programs and grants, please visit nps.gov/stlpg/.

www.nps.gov
About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America's 423 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov, and on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube