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e owe it to ourselves, our ancestors, and our future generations to preserve—and share—the full American story. Sometimes preserving that story means working through a difficult past to create a more inclusive future. Sometimes it means amplifying the voices of those who historically have been silenced. No matter the approach, we believe every American should be able to see themselves, their history, and their potential in both our collective story and our national landscape.

We are committed to crafting a narrative that expands our view of history and, ultimately, begins to reconstruct our national identity, while inspiring a new generation of activists to advocate for our diverse historic places.

We will use the Action Fund to provide grants to African American historic sites and empower youth through Hands-On Preservation Experience (HOPE Crew). We will research preservation’s impact on contemporary urban issues that disproportionately affect communities of color, while advocating for underrepresented groups. At our National Trust Historic Sites, we will model innovative approaches to interpreting and preserving African American cultural heritage. And through it all, we will continue to work on the ground with communities and cities to protect significant historic places and elevate their stories through our National Treasures program.

The Action Fund marks a major step forward in how we save and sustain historic African American places. We invite you to join us.