The National Park Service (NPS) will partner with five historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) to restore historical buildings on campus.
Around $9.7 million in grants is being prepared to fund preservation projects at Alabama State University, Miles College, Selma University, Alabama A&M University, and Stillman College.
Since 1990, the government agency has awarded funds totaling $87 million to 85 HBCUs.
“For more than 180 years, Historically Black Colleges and Universities have provided high-level academics, opportunities, and community for generations of students,” NPS Director Chuck Sams said. “These grants enable HBCUs to preserve the noteworthy structures that honor the past and tell the ongoing story of these historic institutions.”
Funding for the program came through the Historic Preservation Fund, which uses US Outer Continental Shelf federal oil and gas lease profits to fund initiatives like these without using tax dollars.
Preservation Projects
The NPS-HBCU grants support campus preservation plans, historic structure reports, pre-preservation studies, and architectural plans.
The funds for this year will go towards the conservation and renovation of Williams Hall at Miles, the Dinkins Memorial Hall at Selma, the Carnegie Hall Library at Alabama A&M, and the Sheppard Library at Stillman, which will be transformed into a civil rights museum.
Other grants will be used for Tyler Hall at Shaw University, the World War Memorial Stadium at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, and the James Shepard Administration Building at North Carolina Central University.