National Park Service awards $1.5M to 2 Ohio equal rights history projects

WASHINGTON – The National Park Service has awarded two Ohio projects $1.5 million as part of the Historic Preservation Fund‘s History of Equal Rights grant program, it was announced on Wednesday, Feb. 21.

The program focuses on the preservation of sites directly associated with the struggle for all Americans to gain equal rights. Overall, $5 million will be allocated to eight projects in six states.

This year’s grants are made to sites significant to the equal rights of women; Hispanic and Blacks; laborers; and the LGBTQ+ community.

“In our American experiment to create a more perfect union, we’ve struggled to meet our core principle of equal rights for all, but we continue moving forward in order to achieve a better future,” said National Park Service Director Chuck Sams.

“The National Park Service is proud to help States, Tribes, local governments, and nonprofit organizations invest in locally-led preservation of historic structures which tell hidden stories of our nation’s history.”

This year’s grants will support the preservation of sites like the United Colored American Cemetery in Cincinnati, and Phase 2 Rehabilitation of the Eleanor B. Rainey Memorial Institute Building in Cleveland.

Both Ohio projects will receive $750,000 apiece.

The United Colored American Cemetery was dedicated in 1883 after the original Black cemetery in Avondale, Ohio, was expelled to make way for White development.

Cemeteries, like all significant institutions, were subject to segregation and inequal protection for Blacks.

It took more than one year to transfer the tombstones, coffins, and remains, but damage to coffins and tombstone misplacements were common.

Moreover, a lack of security during the long removal and reburial process left both locations vulnerable to vandalism, looting, and destruction by outside parties.

This grant will preserve the cemetery with structural repairs to the burial vaults, monument cleaning and repair, and accessibility and security improvements.

History of Equal Rights Grant Awards

ALABAMA

— Marion

Structural Improvement to the Zion Chapel Methodist Church

Zion Chapel Methodist Church

$748,900

COLORADO

— Las Animas

Boggsville (Boggs & Prowers House) Preservation: Final Phase

Bent County Historical Society

$522,732

— Pueblo

Preservation of the Colorado Fuel & Iron Company Medical Dispensary

Bessemer Historical Society, Inc.

$648,048

GEORGIA

— Valdosta

Rehabilitation Planning for Dasher High School

Coastal Plain Area Economic Opportunity Authority

$80,853

ILLINOIS

— Peoria

Peoria Women’s Club Rehabilitation

Peoria Women’s Club

$750,000

MASSACHUSETTS

— Boston

Arlington Street Church South Stairs and Accessibility Improvements

The Foundation for the Preservation of 20 Arlington Street, Inc.

$749,467

OHIO

— Cincinnati

United Colored American Cemetery Preservation

The Union Foundation

$750,000

— Cleveland

Phase 2 Rehabilitation of the Eleanor B. Rainey Memorial Institute Building

Cliquepoint Data Foundation

$750,000

Total

$5,000,000

Historic Preservation Fund

Through the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF), Congress appropriated funding for the History of Equal Rights grant program in fiscal year 2023.

The HPF uses revenue from federal oil and gas leases on the Outer Continental Shelf to assist with a broad range of preservation projects, lessening the loss of nonrenewable resources and benefiting the preservation of other irreplaceable resources, without using tax dollars.

Since its establishment in 1977, the HPF has provided more than $2 billion in historic preservation grants to States, Tribes, local governments, and nonprofit organizations.

Administered by the NPS, HPF funds may be appropriated by Congress to support a variety of historic preservation projects to help preserve the nation’s cultural resources.

For more information about NPS historic preservation programs and grants, please visit the Historic Preservation Fund.