African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund Awards 27 Grants Awarded To African American Historic Sites

On July 16, 2020, the National Trust for Historic Preservation announced more than $1.6 million in grants to 27 sites and organizations through its African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund.

Brent Leggs, executive director of the Action Fund, notes, “The recipients of this funding exemplify centuries of African American resilience, activism, and achievement, some known and some yet untold, that tell the complex story of American history in the United States. With urgency and intention, the nation must value the link between architecture and racial justice, and should fund these and other cultural assets to ensure their protection and preservation.”

Over the past two years, the National Trust has funded 65 historic African American places and invested more than $4.3 million to help preserve landscapes and buildings imbued with Black life, humanity, and cultural heritage. This year’s funds, provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, were awarded to key places and organizations that help the Action Fund protect and restore African American historic sites. Grants are given across four categories: capacity building, project planning, capital, and programming and interpretation.

Below, read the full list of grantees:

Africatown Heritage Preservation Foundation (Mobile, Alabama)

Clayborn Temple Clayborn Reborn (Memphis, Tennessee)

Tenth Street Historic District, Tenth Street Residential Organization (Dallas, Texas)

Paul Robeson House and Museum, West Philadelphia Cultural Alliance (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

Maxville Heritage Interpretive Center (Joseph, Oregon)

While We Are Still Here (Harlem, New York City, New York)

Florida African American Heritage Preservation Network John G. Riley Museum (Tallahassee, Florida)

Georgia African American Historic Preservation Network Georgia Historic Preservation Division

Banneker-Douglass Museum Foundation Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture (Annapolis, Maryland)

Historic Vernon Chapel AME Church Tulsa, Oklahoma)

Historic McDonough 19 Principal’s Office Leona Tate Foundation for Change, Inc. (New Orleans, Louisiana)

May’s Lick Rosenwald School Mason County Fiscal Court (Maysville, Kentucky)

Historic Dennis Farm House Dennis Farm Charitable Land Trust (Brooklyn Township, Pennsylvania)

National Center of Afro-American Artists at Abbotsford (Roxbury, Massachusetts)

Muddy Waters House Muddy Waters Mojo Museum, Inc. (Chicago, Illinois)

Omaha Star Publishing Company Omaha Economic Development Corp. (Omaha, Nebraska)

Founder’s Church of Religious Science (Los Angeles, California)

Historic Brockway Center and Historic Lyons Mansion Oklahoma City Urban Renewal Authority (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)

Historic Mitchelville Freedom Park (Hilton Head Island, South Carolina)

The Commonwealth Planning Project Sweet Water Foundation (Chicago, Illinois)

The Clifton House (Baltimore, Maryland)

Mapping C’ville Jefferson School African American Heritage Center (Charlottesville, Virginia)

Association of African American Museums (AAAM) (Washington, D.C.)

Lewis Latimer House Museum (Flushing, New York)

Montana State Historic Preservation Office Montana Historical Society (statewide)

Sweet Auburn Works (Atlanta, Georgia)

AACHAF Vision Grant: City of Minneapolis (Minneapolis, Minnesota)

Dominion Energy Commits $35 Million to Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Dominion Energy (NYSE: D) is launching a $35 million initiative in support of African American and underrepresented minority students. This six-year program will support historically black colleges and universities in Virginia, Ohio, North Carolina and South Carolina. Additionally, as part of the initiative, a $10 million scholarship fund will be created to support African American and underrepresented minority students across the company’s service territory.

Said Thomas F. Farrell, II, the company’s chairman, president and chief executive officer: 

“We all know there are no actions or words that will immediately heal the hurt caused by 400 years of institutional racism. But since early June, we have seen signs of change and growth. Our country is moving forward. We are moving forward, too. This initiative is a recognition of the important role played by these institutions in African American advancement and the importance of education as an equalizer in society. These institutions have been foundational in the struggle to improve the lives of African Americans and in the fight for social justice. We are pleased and humbled to build on our company’s nearly 40-year history of supporting historically black colleges and universities.”

Additional details about the institutions to be supported and the new Dominion Energy Educational Equity scholarship fund will be provided in the coming days. 

The initiative builds on nearly four decades of support for higher education equity, including volunteer efforts and financial contributions provided to historically black colleges and universities in our service territory.

This new program is in addition to a recent $5 million commitment made by Dominion Energy and the company’s charitable foundation to support social justice, community reconciliation and rebuilding.

About Dominion Energy

More than 7 million customers in 20 states energize their homes and businesses with electricity or natural gas from Dominion Energy (NYSE: D), headquartered in Richmond, Va. The company is committed to sustainable, reliable, affordable and safe energy and is one of the nation's largest producers and transporters of energy with more than $100 billion of assets providing electric generation, transmission and distribution, as well as natural gas storage, transmission, distribution and import/export services. The company is committed to achieving net zero carbon dioxide and methane emissions from its power generation and gas infrastructure operations by 2050. Please visit DominionEnergy.com to learn more.

For further information: Ohio/Virginia: 804-771-6115 | North Carolina/South Carolina: 800-562-9308

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms to defy Kemp ban on mask mandates

Several Georgia mayors including Keisha Lance Bottoms have lashed out over Gov. Brian Kemp’s (R) Wednesday order overriding local mandates requiring residents to wear a mask or face covering amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, vowing to continue enforcing local rules.

Bottoms said in a Thursday news conference that “it’s my belief that the city of Atlanta still has the appropriate standing to mandate masks,” specifically citing city-owned buildings and other areas.

"I believe that our city mask ordinance, and I believe those across the state, are defensible, and it is not just my posture but the posture of many mayors across this state that our policies are enforceable and they stand,” Bottoms said Thursday.

Kemp’s office has called local mask mandates “unenforceable.” The governor’s Wednesday order voids local mandates and instead “strongly” encourages all residents and visitors to wear face coverings in public.

When asked if she feared a lawsuit from the state, Bottoms, who announced that she tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this month, said she was not concerned .

"You all know I love to quote Audre Lorde, she says 'I am deliberate and afraid of nothing.' So I am not afraid of the city being sued," Bottoms said Thursday. "And I'll put our policies up against anyone's any day of the week."

[SOURCE: THE HILL]

NAACP SET TO HOST HISTORIC 111TH NATIONAL CONVENTION ENTIRELY ONLINE

The NAACP is set to host its 111th National Convention entirely online. Over the course of two weeks, from August 2-6 and August 9-15, the nation’s most prominent social justice organization will bring together elected officials, members, organizers, faith leaders, and entertainers for workshops and discussions to promote solutions to some of the most pressing issues like COVID-19, voter suppression, police brutality, racism, the 2020 election and more. Registration for the convention will open the week of July 20. Interested participants can register at naacpconvention.org.

“The predicament we find ourselves in as a nation, as a society and as a people presents a unique opportunity for change on a large scale,” said Derrick Johnson, president and CEO, NAACP. “Living through a health pandemic and a racial crisis has tested the frays of our country, and I can’t think of a better time to convene thought leaders and those with a vested interest in creating a social and political atmosphere that works for all.”

Since the beginning of COVID-19, the NAACP has hosted countless panels, town halls, and gatherings across digital platforms to ensure communities had access to knowledgeable experts and accurate information. The annual convention will be a continuation of the organization’s efforts to keep people safe, informed and secure in their civil and human rights.

As our communities’ safety and security continue to be our utmost priority, the association’s 111th annual convention will seek to serve an even larger audience by creating a robust offering of programs online,” said Leon W. Russell, chairman, NAACP Board of Directors. “The fight for justice is needed now more than ever, and our commitment to ensuring all realize it is our priority.”

More information about the 2020 NAACP National Convention, including a schedule of events and registration details, can be found by visiting naacpconvention.org.

Miami Heat's Jimmy Butler wants no name on back of his jersey

Miami Heat All-Star swingman Jimmy Butler is hoping to keep the nameplate on the back of his jersey blank to underscore that if he weren't an NBA player, he would be "no different than anybody else of color."

Many players have decided to wear one of a list of NBA-approved social justice messages during play later this month at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida. Butler said he hopes the NBA will allow him to wear no message at all.

Watch Butler explain his decision below:

The lack of words @JimmyButler hopes you'll see on the back of his jersey is a statement within itself.#BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/LlIYfSFl92

— x - Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) July 14, 2020