The National Park Service’s African American Civil Rights Grant Program has awarded $15 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, Florida, a pioneering case for civil rights that helped gain equal pay for Black teachers in Florida.
More details on grant recipients can be found at this site.
Visit NPS.gov to learn more about the African American Civil Rights Grant Program, how to apply and dates for upcoming grant opportunities. More than $16 million in FY2021 funding will be available for application in Fall 2021.
The Historic Preservation Fund 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.