National Trust Awards $13.5 Million to Preserve 38 Historically Black Churches

The African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, a division of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, has made a substantial investment of $13.5 million in 2026 through its "Preserving Black Churches" (PBC) program.

**Significant Investment in Heritage**

This funding supports the preservation, stewardship, and long-term sustainability of 38 historically Black churches, which are recognized as anchors of Black faith, culture, democracy, and community across the United States.

**Notable Grant Recipients**

Among the grant recipients are some of the most historically significant Black churches in America:

- **Sixteenth Street Baptist Church** in Birmingham, Alabama, a global symbol of the Civil Rights Movement, received funding to hire a Director of Development and support a preservation endowment.

- **Ebenezer Baptist Church** in Atlanta, Georgia, where Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Was baptized and preached, received funding for an interpretive and educational tour.

- **University AME Zion Church** in Palo Alto, California, received funds for urgent structural and architectural preservation.

- **Shorter AME Church** in Denver, Colorado, for restoring its historic sanctuary.

- **Dixwell Avenue Congregational United Church of Christ** in New Haven, Connecticut, to preserve and restore historic stained-glass windows.

- **First African Baptist Church** in Savannah, Georgia, for restoring stained-glass windows damaged by storms.

- **Pilgrim Baptist Church** in Chicago, Illinois, for interpretive programming exploring its influence on music history.

**Broader Mission**

These churches represent more than places of worship, they are living monuments to the African American experience, having served as centers of community organizing, education, and resistance throughout American history. The preservation grants ensure these sacred spaces can continue to serve their communities for generations to come.