Grant Program Helps Preserve Historic Black Churches Across America
The Preserving Black Churches program awarded grants to historic congregations this year, including New Jerusalem Baptist Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The $200,000 grant will help the 70-year-old church maintain its building without cutting community services.
New Jerusalem Baptist Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, received a $200,000 grant this year from the Preserving Black Churches program, a National Trust for Historic Preservation initiative. The church, founded in 1957 by survivors of the Tulsa Race Massacre, will use the funds to create a building endowment.
Pastor Sean Jarrett said the grant solves a problem many Black churches face: choosing between keeping the lights on and serving the community.
"The grant matches $200,000 we plan to raise," Jarrett told NPR. "It alleviates the choice between community needs and building upkeep, a struggle many Black churches face."
New Jerusalem's history is tied directly to one of the worst acts of racial violence in American history. The 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre destroyed the Greenwood District, known as Black Wall Street. Survivors rebuilt, but later urban renewal projects displaced the community again. A highway now cuts through what was once a thriving neighborhood.
The church has served north Tulsa for nearly 70 years, providing food assistance, youth programs, and a gathering place for a community that has faced repeated displacement.
Jarrett said the church remains "unapologetically Black" while welcoming all. He also addressed concerns about younger generations leaving traditional institutions. "Many are questioning Christianity's co-optation by ideologies like Christian nationalism," he said. "The Black church must re-present a Jesus who stands with the marginalized."
The Preserving Black Churches program has awarded grants to dozens of congregations across the country since its launch.
