(RNS) — Thirty historically Black churches and projects, including those with ties to Civil Rights leaders who led churches and protests across the United States, are receiving grants totaling $8.5 million from the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
The awards are part of the third annual Preserving Black Churches grant program that focuses on historic African American sites across the country and assists them in avoiding demolition, paying for maintenance and fixing structural problems.
“We are honored to support the ongoing legacies of these churches, which have stood at the forefront of social progress for generations,” said Brent Leggs, executive director of the trust’s African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, in a Monday (Feb. 24) statement. “This $8.5 million investment marks a critical step in safeguarding historically Black churches as enduring symbols of faith, strength and community leadership. By preserving them, we ensure that their powerful presence continues to live on in their communities and inspire future generations.”
Among the recipients of the grants, which range from $50,000 to $500,000, is The Historic Bethel Baptist Church Community in Birmingham, Alabama. It was led by the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, who died in 2011 and was known for fighting against segregation in his city. The funding will be used to help expand programming to feature augmented reality and visual interpretation to aid visitors in learning about the church’s role in the Civil Rights Movement, according to the Preserving Black Churches news release announcing the funding.
Another Alabama church, First Congregational Church of Marion, which was formerly led by the Rev. Andrew Young, will receive a grant to help stabilize the building’s steeple, among other repairs. Young later became president of the National Council of Churches and the first African American U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and recently eulogized former President Jimmy Carter at Washington National Cathedral in January.
West Hunter Street Baptist Church in Atlanta, once led by the Rev. Ralph Abernathy, who died in 1990 and was a co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., will receive funds to aid in the hiring of a preservation manager for restoration projects at the church.
The trust’s African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund has raised more than $150 million to preserve historic African American sites. The Preserving Black Churches program specifically, supported by Lilly Endowment, has raised a total of $60 million to protect the legacies and assets of the historic buildings.
Two 2025 recipients are receiving larger grants than in previous years.
The African Methodist Episcopal Zion denomination, a historically Black denomination based in Charlotte, North Carolina, received $500,000 to create a denomination-wide preservation endowment to aid in historic preservation of its churches across the country. Its members have included abolitionists Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth.
The Cleveland Restoration Society was allocated $300,000 for its Historic Black Church Initiative. Some of Cleveland’s churches were locations for organizing efforts led by Malcolm X, King and other leaders of the Civil Rights Movement. Several of the churches have decades of deferred maintenance and structural issues.
