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Preservation is about community.

Now is a time for us to come together as we have so many times before, but with a new sense of urgency and inclusion, and in ways that will last beyond the coronavirus crisis. As important visual and cultural clues, the places we preserve hold promise for the future we seek to reclaim, and each site stands as an historical indicator of our complex present. We need old buildings as much as old buildings need us. They prompt us to remember who we are.

The COVID-19 virus has devastated many across the country, but due to disinvestment and systemic policies, African Americans and communities of color have been disproportionately affected. Our nation is again reminded that this disparity mirrors and reflects historical and racial inequities. We are being reminded to face the truth about our past.

As a movement, preservation has also mirrored traditional social values. Yet, if we lean into hope and take time to self-reflect, we can be the change we seek. We can draw lessons from the past to create a prosperous future, while also reflecting on the promise of preservation as an equity-driven movement. In our individual moments of stillness, we should ask ourselves: Can we confront the economic challenges of COVID-19 and ignite a contemporary preservation movement as a force for positive social change? How can we weave a tapestry of places and stories to tell our full, shared history? Can we challenge ourselves to realize equity-driven outcomes that benefit all Americans? Because when we collaborate, we have the capacity to create a national identity that reflects the country’s true diversity.

In the spirit of envisioning a more prosperous and inclusive future, I invite you to join me for a special Virtual Preservation Month event with Ms. Phylicia Rashad, co-chair of the National Trust’s African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund on Friday, May 22, at 1:30 p.m. ET. (Register in advance for the webinar.) In our conversation, we will discuss the power of preservation, the work of the Action Fund, and the historic African American places that inspire all Americans to build a better world.

Our forebearers responded to earlier preservation threats and injustices with dogged leadership, tenacious thinking, and community organizing. From the foundational work of Ann Pamela Cunningham and the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association, to the groundbreaking activism of Mary B. Talbert and the National Association of Colored Women, our ancestors ignited our movement by honoring the cultural memories of George Washington and Frederick Douglass. Just like these trailblazing women, we have the fortitude to walk in their footsteps and prove that by cooperative agreement we can measure up. As social critic and author James Baldwin said, “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”

The African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund will continue to examine and eliminate inequities through new forms of partnership, interpretation, and funding. Our leadership is about pursuing an idea, something yet to be seen, and a culture of learning to increase our relevancy and impact. We promote preservation as economic and social justice. We partner with humility in service of African Americans whose overlooked stories and contributions provide strength and examples of overcoming impossible-seeming odds. We draw inspiration and resilience from African American historic places.

Historic sites that bring forward a diverse and inclusive national narrative are playing a crucial role in redefining our collective history and, meaningfully, expanding the preservation movement in equitable ways. These cultural assets help us all walk toward a new era of justice. May our nation face its past to create a more just American culture with preservationists on the front lines protecting and preserving our diverse historic places and communities.

The National Trust is proud to share that the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund is the subject of an article in The New Yorker titled, "The Fight to Preserve African-American History."

Appearing in the February 3, 2020, issue (under the headline "Rescue Work"), the article by Casey Cep explores how "activists and preservationists are changing the kinds of places that are protected—and what it means to preserve them."

Read the article online to learn more about the Action Fund, executive director Brent Leggs, and the many partners and advocates who are helping save places that help tell our full American story.

On June 12, 2019, the South Side Community Art Center kicked off the restoration of the building's original windows through a grant provided by the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund in July 2018. The 1892 Classical Revival home in Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood was converted into an art center in 1940, one of nearly 100 art centers in the country established by the Works Progress Administration's Federal Art Project in the 1940s.

Since then, the Art Center has served as a cultural and artistic hub in Chicago, fostering emerging African American artists and showcasing established talent while connecting South Side residents to art through exhibits, classes, lectures, and other community programming.

The Art Center's window restoration grant was part of more than $1 million provided by the Action Fund last year to support the preservation of sites and stories of black history. The next round of Action Fund grants will be announced on July 5 at Essence Fest in New Orleans.

Watch the video below to learn more about South Side Community Art Center and the window rehabilitation grant, and stay tuned for an additional project at the Art Center through the National Trust's HOPE Crew (Hands-On Preservation Experience) program on June 17-18, 2019.

On June 11, 2019, the National Trust's Hands-On Preservation Experience (HOPE Crew) program completed a project at The Alonzo Herndon Home Museum in Atlanta, the historic home of Atlanta’s first black millionaire and founder of Atlanta Life Insurance Company.

Under the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund (AACHAF), HOPE Crew performed work on the property, part of its partnership with the Fund II Foundation to engage African American youth in learning preservation trades at sites tied to African American achievement and activism.

“The historic Herndon Home, owned by one of the most prominent black families in Atlanta’s history, provides a lens to explore and engage with the city’s role as a center for black business, education, and culture,” said Brent Leggs, executive director of the Action Fund.

The crew members were provided by Greening Youth Foundation, a black-owned nonprofit youth corps based in Atlanta. Over a period of several days, the all-African American team carefully repaired, scraped, and re-painted the back porch and elements of the home's front facade under the supervision of a local master craftsman.

“Rising from slavery to become one of the wealthiest African Americans in the South by 1927, Alonzo Herndon exemplifies the best of what our community can achieve and contribute,” says Linda Wilson, executive director, Fund II Foundation.“Herndon built a business empire, a part of which still exists today, 114 years later. His empire not only enriched his life, but the lives of those in the community he served through good business practices and civic responsibility.”

Through this and several more projects occurring throughout summer 2019 (including the Pittsburgh home of author August Wilson, the home of John and Alice Coltrane in Long Island, Bethel Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, and six-week intensive internships for architecture students enrolled at two HBCUs), the Action Fund and HOPE Crew will work to proactively engage diverse youth in preserving places tied to African American activism and achievement nationwide.

On May 2, 2019, the National Trust announced a leadership gift from the Fund II Foundation through the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund to scale up the HOPE Crew (Hands-On Preservation Experience) program on its five-year anniversary to train more African American young people in the preservation building trades while preserving historic sites tied to African American achievement and activism. Fund II Foundation's support represents the largest investment in HOPE Crew's history.

The first HOPE Crew project undertaken with Fund II support will be Nina Simone's childhood home, a National Trust National Treasure being restored through the Action Fund in Tryon North Carolina. The seven HOPE Crew participants for the upcoming project, provided by the Schenck Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center of North Carolina, will be at the home for several days, repairing and repainting its exterior. The project is an important first step in preparing the home for extensive rehabilitation and reuse.

Fund II's support of HOPE Crew in the upcoming year is tied to two of the foundation's key pillars: preserving African American cultural heritage and introducing young people to occupations in STEM-related fields. According to Linda Wilson, executive director of the Fund II Foundation, "The projects celebrate iconic figures, instill community pride, and also provide the opportunity to educate around them and their achievements for generations to come."

Other HOPE Crew activities planned with Fund II support include preservation projects at the Pittsburgh home of author August Wilson, the John and Alice Coltrane Home and Chicago's South Side Community Art Center (both National Treasures of the National Trust), and six-week intensive internships for architecture students enrolled at Historically Black Colleges and Universities Morgan State University and Tuskegee University.