Black History

Homes of Harriet Tubman, Langston Hughes Among Sites To Be Reserved by 1.6 Million Grant

OAKLAND POST — The National Trust for Historic Preservation recently announced that $1.6 million in grants will go towards its African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund to protect 22 Black sites and organizations. The grants—which were provided by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation—will financially support the organization’s African American fund which was designed to bring unsung narratives about the Black experience to the forefront by protecting and restoring places that are embedded in the fabric of African American history. The funds will go towards project planning, capacity building and programming.

Published

5 years ago

August 4, 2019

Oakland Post

By The Oakland Post

The National Trust for Historic Preservation recently announced that $1.6 million in grants will go towards its African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund to protect 22 Black sites and organizations.

The grants—which were provided by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation—will financially support the organization’s African American fund which was designed to bring unsung narratives about the Black experience to the forefront by protecting and restoring places that are embedded in the fabric of African American history. The funds will go towards project planning, capacity building and programming.

The non-profit trust has been dedicated to preserving Black sites throughout the country and the organization is furthering its mission to ensure that these landmarks are conserved.

Amongst the 22 sites that were selected are the African Meeting House in Boston which is known to be the oldest Black church in America; Mississippi’s Emmett and Mamie Till Interpretive Center which was created in memoriam of the teen who was tragically murdered; Harriet Tubman’s former home in Auburn, New York; Langston Hughes’ former house in Harlem; the home of Negro League Baseball star Satchel Paige in Kansas City, MO; the Wright Building in Florida which was a grocery and general store for African Americans that featured Black vendors and The Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C., which was the site of the racially motivated 2015 shooting of nine black parishioners.

“The recipients of this funding shine a light on once lived stories and Black culture, some familiar and some yet untold, that weave together the complex story of American history in the United States,” Brent Leggs, Executive Director of the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, said in a statement.

“Beyond saving important African American heritage sites, the Action Fund is helping Americans understand more deeply who we are as a nation,” said Mellon Foundation President Elizabeth Alexander. “We applaud the ongoing work of the Action Fund in calling greater attention to the diversity of American history and lifting up narratives that have been too long neglected or forgotten.”

The Action Fund has granted a total of $2.7 million since its launch in November 2017.

News about the grants comes shortly after the organization launched a campaign to preserve songstress Nina Simone’s childhood home. The campaign was backed by Issa Rae, Talib Kweli, Mahershala Ali, John Legend and other stars.

Aside from its work to protect historical Black landmarks, the nonprofit has been focused on diversifying the preservation industry. In an effort to develop career pathways for the next generation of aspiring preservationists of color, the organization created a program that gives young African Americans first-hand experience with the restoration of landmarks.

This article originally appeared in the Oakland Post.

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Activism

S.F. Black Leaders Rally to Protest, Discuss ‘Epidemic’ of Racial Slurs Against Black Students in SF Public School System

Parents at the meeting spoke of their children as no longer feeling safe in school because of bullying and discrimination. Parents also said that reported incidents such as racial slurs and intimidation are not dealt with to their satisfaction and feel ignored.

Published

2 days ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Rev. Amos C. Brown, president of the San Francisco NAACP and pastor of Third Baptist Church. Photo courtesy Third Baptist Church.

By Carla Thomas

San Francisco’s Third Baptist Church hosted a rally and meeting Sunday to discuss hatred toward African American students of the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD).

Rev. Amos C. Brown, president of the San Francisco NAACP and pastor of Third Baptist Church, along with leadership from local civil rights groups, the city’s faith-based community and Black community leadership convened at the church.

“There has been an epidemic of racial slurs and mistreatment of Black children in our public schools in the city,” said Brown. “This will not be tolerated.”

According to civil rights advocate Mattie Scott, students from elementary to high school have reported an extraordinary amount of racial slurs directed at them.

“There is a surge of overt racism in the schools, and our children should not be subjected to this,” said Scott. “Students are in school to learn, develop, and grow, not be hated on,” said Scott. “The parents of the children feel they have not received the support necessary to protect their children.”

Attendees were briefed last Friday in a meeting with SFUSD Superintendent Dr. Matt Wayne.

SFUSD states that their policies protect children and they are not at liberty to publicly discuss the issues to protect the children’s privacy.

Some parents said they have removed their students from school while other parents and community leaders called on the removal of the SFUSD superintendent, the firing of certain school principals and the need for more supportive school board members.

Community advocates discussed boycotting the schools and creating Freedom Schools led by Black leaders and educators, reassuring parents that their child’s wellbeing and education are the highest priority and youth are not to be disrupted by racism or policies that don’t support them.

Virginia Marshall, chair of the San Francisco NAACP’s education committee, offered encouragement to the parents and students in attendance while also announcing an upcoming May 14 school board meeting to demand accountability over their mistreatment.

“I’m urging anyone that cares about our students to pack the May 14 school board meeting,” said Marshall.

This resource was supported in whole or in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library via California Black Media as part of the Stop the Hate Program. The program is supported by partnership with California Department of Social Services and the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs as part of the Stop the Hate program. To report a hate incident or hate crime and get support, go to CA vs Hate.