The African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund is a program formed in 2017[1] to aid stewards of Black cultural sites throughout the nation in preserving both physical landmarks, their material collections and associated narratives. It was organized under the auspices of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The initiative which awards grants to select applicants and advocates of Black history has been led by architectural historian Brent Leggs since 2019.[2] It is the largest program in America to preserve places associated with Black history.[3]
History
The program was conceived as a means towards creating greater resilience and capacity for sensitive and threatened places that tell the stories of the African diaspora. Support from the fund has aided the stabilization and restoration of numerous structures and properties from churches to cemeteries, from the Harriet Tubman Home in Auburn, New York to the Cleveland Public Theater in Ohio. The Fund has an advisory council which includes Ford Foundation president Darren Walker, literary critic and author Henry Louis Gates Jr., educator and historian Lonnie Bunch and actress Phylicia Rashad to name a few. Donors to the Fund have included philanthropist MacKenzie Scott who made a $20 million gift in 2021.[4]
As of February 2022, the fund has raised $70 million. Since it was started, it has given grants to more than 200 preservation projects in overlooked communities.[5]
Simultaneously to fixing dilapidated or threatened bricks and mortar projects, the goal of the fund is also to effect social change in neglected neighborhoods. The award of monies for the reuse and revitalization of culturally meaningful structures and landscapes results in a positive benefit for marginalized residents.[3] Restoration of the home of blues artist Muddy Waters for example is less about just repairing a house - it is also about creating a venue for other musicians to be inspired and perhaps record their own music.
Preserving Black Churches Project
According to Leggs, its executive director, the fund next plans to partner with Black churches as part of an investment in revitalizing community religious centers. A donation of $20 million to the Preserving Black Churches Project was announced on Martin Luther King Day in January 2022.[6] The gift was made by the Lilly Endowment, one of the largest endowments in the United States.
Grantees
In 2018, $1 million was awarded to 16 projects.[7]