News Release

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

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: [e-mail]

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.