The African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, 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.
One location in South Carolina received funding. It is The Brainerd Institute / Brainerd Institute Heritage in Chester, SC.
The Brainerd Institute was founded by the Presbyterian Church in 1866 as an elite educational institution for Black students. The school graduated its last class in 1939. Decades later, the acclaimed poet Vivian Ayers, a member of that final class, is leading efforts to restore and reactivate the campus. Funding will support the hire of expert consultants to develop a master plan to offer cultural, arts, and literacy programs at the institute once more.
“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
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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:
