| Sponsored by | 
Helping people protect, enhance, and enjoy the places that matter to them.
About Us
| | Supported by |
The African American Historic Places Initiative is supported in part by
Ford Foundation
1772 Foundation | | The African American Historic Places Update highlights the efforts of the National Trust for Historic Preservation to help preservation leaders preserve, enhance, and enjoy African American historic places (AAHP). Please share this information with your colleagues and friends. To discuss issues, share your ideas, announce events, and find opportunities, please join other preservation leaders on the AAHP list-serv by contacting Brent_Leggs@nthp.org. | New Grant Program Announced
Thanks to funding from the Ford Foundation, the National Trust for Historic Preservation will be launching Partnership-in-
Scholarship Grants to support collaborative projects between African American Historic Places and college/university scholars.
This year, four grants of $15,000 each will be awarded to projects that enhance cultural programs to help sustain current or attract new audiences at historic sites or enhance the interpretation of challenging topics at historic sites. Projects should: - improve public access to African American historical and cultural resources at historic places, or
- strengthen teaching and education at colleges and universities through historic places, or
- promote research and original scholarship of a significant theme related to African American history and culture to support joint public programs, or
- provide opportunities for lifelong learning through a collaborative program, or
- strengthen each institution's humanities programming in order to preserve, enhance, or enjoy significant African American historic places.
More details, including examples of eligible projects and partners, are available in the Guidelines for the Partnership-in-Scholarship Grants. Not sure if your project is eligible or competitive? Contact the NTHP Regional Office near you or Grant Manager Max A. van Balgooy. Deadlines for applications is September 30, 2009; applications will be available in July. | | Know a Place That Matters?
 If you do, you'll want to participate in National Preservation Month. Building on the overwhelming success of last year's campaign, the May 2009 theme will be This Place Matters. The National Trust for Historic Preservation is launching an interactive online forum where people can share photos and stories about the places that matter to them.  Simply visit This Place Matters on our Web site to download a sign, take a picture or make a video at the place that matters to you, and post it to our slide show. Don't have a picture? Plant your flag on our This Place Matters Google Map. And then be sure to tell your friends, members, and supporters you're part of a national movement and to look for you!
| Ervin James Named AAHP Coordinator
The National Trust is pleased to announce that Ervin James of Cincinnati, Ohio will become the African American Historic Places Coordinator beginning September 1, 2009. He will be coordinating NTHP's efforts to improve the preservation and interpretation of African American historic places across the country and among his primary duties will be expanding and building an online database of sites, advising sites on various resources available at NTHP, and assisting with the management of a new grant program. This position is funded by the Ford Foundation as part of Phase II of the African American Historic Places Initiative.
During the summer, he will be one of two 1772 Foundation Fellows in the Northeast Office in Boston working on a regional database of African American historic places to better understand the health of preservation organizations while also mapping and adding content onto PreservationNation.org.
Ervin James is currently completing his doctorate in history at Texas A & M University and previously attended Texas Southern University and Tuskegee University. His experience working in historic preservation and in public history includes such respected organizations as the Texas Historical Commission, National Center for Preservation Training and Technology, and Boston African American National Historic Site and includes presentations at the National African American Alliance Conference and the Association for the Study of African American Life and History. | Diversity Scholarships Available
The National Trust seeks culturally diverse applicants whose attendance at the National Preservation Conference (in Nashville October 13-17, 2009) will benefit their communities and whose commitment to historic preservation will be reinforced by their participation. The Diversity Scholarship Program, funded by a generous grant from the National Park Service, provides financial assistance to approximately 60 community leaders from diverse social, economic, racial, ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Applications are available online and due June 15, 2009. Learn more.
| Resources on PreservationNation.org
 Visit African American Heritage in Preservation, a new page at PreservationNation.org that you can learn more about sites, programs, and resources relating to people of African heritage. Current features include the National Park Service's efforts to preserve sites associated with Harriet Tubman in Maryland and New York and Jerome "PopAgee" Johnson's work to preserve the center of the jazz universe in New Orleans. Plus you'll find a changing list of stories from Preservation magazine and the PreservationNation blog.
| | | Coming up in future issues
- Online database of African American historic places
- Activities and events at the National Preservation Conference in Nashville
| | The National Trust for Historic Preservation helps people protect, enhance, and enjoy the places that matter to them. Support our efforts by becoming a member (it's only $20 a year!) or if you're a preservation leader, you'll find Forum membership to be an ideal resource. Sincerely, |
Max A. van Balgooy
Director, African American Historic Places Initiative &
National Trust for Historic Preservation | | |
This email was sent to eelaj@aol.com by max_vanbalgooy@nthp.org.
National Trust for Historic Preservation | 1785 Massachusetts Ave., NW | Washington | DC | 20036
