If you or someone you know has a historic site, museum, cemetery, or landscape representing African American cultural heritage, share your story by submitting a Letter of Intent for a grant from the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund by January 14.
When all Americans have the opportunity to learn from African American historic places—from the people who lived and died there, and from the stories these places still embody—they encounter a more diverse and inclusive narrative that advances our understanding of ourselves as a nation.
In 2021 the Action Fund provided more than $3 million in grants to 40 sites and organizations in the United States.
Those who qualify may benefit from this opportunity, there is no time to contemplate. The application deadline is this week, Friday, January 14, just a few days away.
This information was received by the East Tennessee Enlightener today, Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2022. I am hopeful that area organizations, Mechanicsville, Lonsdale, our renowned Speedway Circle, The Delaney Museum at the Beck, Burlington, Park City, Chilhowee, Caledonia Flagler Johnson buildings, formerly owned Black buildings in the Old City and The Bottoms, and what remaining relics of East Tennessee’s Black communities in Knox, Blount, Anderson and Jefferson counties can meet the short deadline and benefit from this opportunity.
As I scoured the site for historic sites in Knoxville and East Tennessee that have benefitted from this resource, there was only one, while Memphis and Nashville have multiple sites listed that have benefited from preservation funds, with a few in Chattanooga.
East Tennessee has an abundance of historical sites from Greeneville, where the first slaves were freed on August 8th 186x, Alcoa, Oak Ridge (Scarboro), Clinton (Green McAdoo), and Knoxville (Speedway Circle, The Bottoms) and beyond.
Click here to apply.
On such short notice, if you can’t apply, please save this information and prepare to apply on the next opportunity.
Grant Recipient Spotlight: Byrd Barr Place Firestation 23 in Seattle
Firestation 23 was built in 1909, and is an important anchor within Seattle’s historic Central District Black community. Repairing the building’s windows, repointing its masonry, and installing seismic bracing will allow it to hold cultural programs in a safe, ADA-accessible facility.
Learn more about the 2021 grant recipients, with organizations and places spanning the country from Oakland Public Library in California to the Alabama African American Civil Rights in Birmingham.