National Trust Awards 13.5 Million to Preserve Historic Black Churches Across America

The African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, a division of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, awarded $13.5 million in grants in 2026 to support historically Black churches across the United States. The funding came in two rounds: $5 million announced on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and $8.5 million distributed to 33 churches in February.

The grants support structural restoration, endowment building, and long-term sustainability for churches that have anchored Black faith, culture, and civic life for generations.

Among the recipients, the First African Baptist Church in Savannah, Georgia, organized in 1773 and officially constituted in 1777, received funding to restore stained-glass windows dating to the early 20th century. The church is considered one of the oldest historically Black churches in the United States.

The 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, established in 1873 and a global symbol of the Civil Rights Movement, received a grant to hire a Director of Development and build a preservation endowment. The church survived a 1963 bombing driven by racial hatred.

Pilgrim Baptist Church in Chicago, considered the birthplace of gospel music and the longtime home of Thomas Andrew Dorsey, received funding for interpretive programming exploring its influence on music history.

University AME Zion Church in Palo Alto, California, founded in 1918 and the oldest continuously operating historically Black church in Silicon Valley, received support for urgent structural and architectural preservation.

The Action Fund has now supported more than 170 historically Black churches since the program began. Program leaders say many of these buildings face urgent preservation needs and that without sustained investment, some could be lost within a generation.